rebuke

[ ri-byook ]
See synonyms for rebuke on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object),re·buked, re·buk·ing.
  1. to express sharp, stern disapproval of; reprove; reprimand.

noun
  1. sharp, stern disapproval; reproof; reprimand.

Origin of rebuke

1
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English rebuken (verb), from Anglo-French rebuker (Old French rebuchier) “to beat back,” equivalent to re-re- + bucher “to beat, strike,” from Germanic

synonym study For rebuke

1. See reproach.

Other words for rebuke

Other words from rebuke

  • re·buk·a·ble, adjective
  • re·buk·er, noun
  • re·buk·ing·ly, adverb
  • un·re·buk·a·ble, adjective
  • un·re·buked, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use rebuke in a sentence

  • Stella always remained cool and exasperatingly debonair under his rebukes, whereas he felt himself growing hot and awkward.

    Sinister Street, vol. 1 | Compton Mackenzie
  • He was gay and merry at Christmas, and his goodness was of a kind which allures while it rebukes.

    Captains of Industry | James Parton
  • Well—a good friend, yet always at my elbow with rebukes and etiquette!

    A German Pompadour | Marie Hay
  • Whatever their cause, rebukes and curtailments of privileges neither silenced him nor lost him the goodwill of his friend.

    Sir Walter Ralegh | William Stebbing
  • The reason of modern times as sternly rebukes them as the heart of the Middle Ages sickened at them.

British Dictionary definitions for rebuke

rebuke

/ (rɪˈbjuːk) /


verb
  1. (tr) to scold or reprimand (someone)

noun
  1. a reprimand or scolding

Origin of rebuke

1
C14: from Old Norman French rebuker, from re- + Old French buchier to hack down, from busche log, of Germanic origin

Derived forms of rebuke

  • rebukable, adjective
  • rebuker, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012