tongue-lashed

verb

past tense of tongue-lash
as in scolded
to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings the drill sergeant tongue-lashed the recruits with a colorful litany of foulmouthed invectives

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tongue-lashed
  1. scolded
  2. lectured
  3. reprimanded
  4. blamed
  5. criticized
  6. chewed out
Verb
  • Eventually, all charges were dropped days before trial after Perry was finally given the full, unredacted grand jury transcripts and scolded prosecutors for violating the inherent trust placed in the office.
    — Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune, 1 Oct. 2026
  • In 2024, a judge scolded both sides for excessive litigation and ruled for the trust to be dissolved and for the house to be sold.
    — Hayley Cuccinello, CNBC, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of scolded
Verb
  • Luann patiently attempts to explain that the women don’t like being lectured to about their business affairs, only for Vicki to abruptly answer a phone call mid-conversation.
    — Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 24 Aug. 2026
  • We’re also lectured early on that Cole is a chess master, but his alleged intelligence never pays off.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of lectured
Verb
  • She was reprimanded by the House Rules and Ethics Committee for her stunt with the bullhorn.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 25 Sep. 2026
  • My mother reprimanded me for taking a sip from a cocktail glass without first removing the little plastic swizzle stick that often comes in a drink.
    — Judith Martin, Sun Sentinel, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of reprimanded
Verb
  • Al-Hindi said his group, along with Hamas, had agreed to the plan and blamed Israel for blocking it.
    — Abby Sewell, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Some food safety scientists blamed the outbreaks on federal cuts to public health.
    — Stephanie Armour, CBS News, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of blamed
Verb
  • Republican gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds criticized Jolly's proposal, contending that approach would leave homeowners footing the bill.
    — Joan Murray, CBS News, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Coach Sean McVay criticized neither the officials nor the penalty, saying the Rams had other chances to close out the game.
    — Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of criticized
Verb
  • Being chewed out was nothing new, part of life as a football player.
    — Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2025
  • About eight or nine hours into a punishing shoot, nerves were fraying, and Mike McGuirk was getting chewed out by a camera operator.
    — Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 4 Sep. 2025
Definition of chewed out
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

tongue-lash
tongue-lashed
tongue-lashes
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Tongue-lashed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tongue-lashed. Accessed 5 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
name tags
Words Named After People Quiz Find out who’s behind "leotard," "morphine," an...
See All