berate
Americanverb (used with object)
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berates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
berated,
past participle, past
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berating
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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beratesimple
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beratessimple
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have beratedperfect
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has beratedperfect
-
am beratingprogressive
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are beratingprogressive
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is beratingprogressive
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have been beratingperfect progressive
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has been beratingperfect progressive
Past
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beratedsimple
-
had beratedperfect
-
was beratingprogressive
-
were beratingprogressive
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had been beratingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of berate
Explanation
A strong verb for harshly cutting someone down with words is berate. "He didn't just correct the cashier who gave him the wrong change — he started to berate her, calling her names in front of the whole store." When you berate someone, you do more than just raise your voice at them; berate implies putting someone down by insulting their character. This word comes from a 16th-century English and French root meaning "to scold or blame." Often the anger behind the scolding seems over-the-top, as in "When the young man behind the counter dropped the scoop of vanilla, the manager berated him excessively by declaring him worthless and weak."
Vocabulary lists containing berate
Instead of "Said": Vexed Verbiage to Express Anger
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "B"
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Refugee
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The president and the chairman could tacitly agree to let Trump berate Warsh while Warsh absorbs it, or Trump could move on like nothing happened.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
He added that once Arday had resigned, "What's the public interest in continuing to berate him?"
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
But the pop singer said she did not send a security guard to berate them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026
If you berate yourself for what you deem parenting mistakes, don’t let it eat away at you.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 2, 2025
I ignored the impulse to berate him, because more than anything, I wanted to hear what Caputo knew.
From "Confessions of a Murder Suspect" by James Patterson
The outspoken peer, who often berates legislation she sees as infringing civil liberties, says environmental concerns are clearly trumping public health concerns.
From BBC ● May 23, 2025
In Season 1, Deborah berates her daughter about her lack of a prenup in a very public birthday dinner speech, but then reluctantly attends her drive-thru wedding via FaceTime.
From Salon ● May 16, 2025
I like it when Bill Plaschke berates himself.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 13, 2024
Before you think I’m that neighbor, one who complains about the kid’s basketball rolling into my flower bed, or who berates people for leaving their trash bin out past trash day, I’m not.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 23, 2023
Marcus berates me with endless questions about the Chili Bowl, like, “Who makes the chili?” or “Is it true you guys don’t wash the pots?”
From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy
But none of the other journalists in the Oval Office with Holmes spoke up as the president berated her.
From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026
That was a change from some earlier, infamous Tesla earnings calls when he lost his temper and even berated “boring, bonehead” questions about the meat and potatoes of that company’s business.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
He berated city leaders for not doing enough to get unhoused people off the streets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026
Brittin has faced scrutiny in the past, particularly over Google's tax affairs in 2016 when he was berated by members of the Public Accounts Committee.
From BBC ● Mar. 23, 2026
Word of what they had done had gotten back to Koch, and he berated them in German.
From "Prisoner B-3087" by Alan Gratz
Then as now, Martin chose a polite but firm approach to Trump, who spent much of the question-and-answer session berating US allies for rebuffing his calls to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
From Barron's ● Mar. 17, 2026
What happened Tuesday should scare away any of the remaining top prospects who would want to play for this berating blowhard.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 18, 2026
Despite Egadze scoring only 154.79 for the free skate - 27 points lower than his season best - there was no berating.
From BBC ● Feb. 8, 2026
Beijing’s retaliation has included berating Tokyo at the United Nations, canceling flights to Japan and threatening a ban on imports of Japanese seafood.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 6, 2026
It sounds as if he’s berating her, but he’s telling the girl what to do.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
