as in scolds
to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings
his wife upbraided him for his irresponsible handling of the family finances
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for upbraids
Verb
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On our hike, Jessie Krebs scolds her boots for sliding on a slick, house-size boulder.—
Andrew McKean,
Outdoor Life,
19 Mar. 2026 -
While some online scolds didn’t like Johnson’s profanity, this has played well in Chicago, a city that has been ravenous for a winning Bears team since the 20th Super Bowl.—
Jon Greenberg,
New York Times,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
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His supervisor appears as a ticket conductor and reprimands him for doing nothing.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Assistive listening studies report that bypassing room acoustics and delivering audio directly can improve signal‑to‑noise ratios by 15–20 dB, making announcements comprehensible and lectures clearer [8].—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
26 Feb. 2026
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Simon Maghakyan lectures on the 20th anniversary of the destruction of Djulfa in December 2025.—
Simon Maghakyan,
Time,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Schiavo raised a similar concern, noting that the National Transportation Safety Board regularly criticizes the Federal Aviation Administration and other regulators for not implementing obvious solutions, even after accidents occur.—
Zach Wichter,
USA Today,
25 Mar. 2026
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Gigerenzer criticizes them as ethically problematic and argues that public policy should emphasize education over subtle choice manipulation.—
Alejandro Hortal-Sánchez,
The Conversation,
24 Mar. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Upbraids.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/upbraids. Accessed 29 Mar. 2026.
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