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
-
have beratedperfect
-
has beratedperfect
-
am beratingprogressive
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are beratingprogressive
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is beratingprogressive
-
have been beratingperfect progressive
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has been beratingperfect progressive
Past
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beratedsimple
-
had beratedperfect
-
was beratingprogressive
-
were beratingprogressive
-
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:
But we were stunned to hear her berate an audience member in the front of the stalls who had been texting throughout the final, most moving scene.
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026
When Demitra got on stage and her material did not receive a reaction from the audience, she started to berate the crowd with insults, according to Montoya.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 5, 2026
Lanning still recalls that early during his brief stint, he stepped in to run a drill, only for Saban to berate him for teaching it incorrectly to the watching players.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 30, 2025
If you berate yourself for what you deem parenting mistakes, don’t let it eat away at you.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 2, 2025
I said this in a most respectful manner, but Tefu jumped in and started to berate Sobukwe.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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
He pours himself a cup of tea, and berates himself for over-steeping it.
From BBC ● Dec. 12, 2023
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
Later, Rebecca goes further: “Everyone is laughing at us, Ted,” she berates him.
From New York Times ● Mar. 15, 2023
After Mother berates me about finding a husband every other day, I have to sleep in a wedding cake.
From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
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
In a documentary capturing the band's early days, external, the trainees were berated for posting photos from their dorms on social media.
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026
Pelley accused CBS News Editor in Chief Bari Weiss of “murdering” the program and berated Bilton, a former New York Times journalist, for lacking TV news experience.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has openly berated reporters during Pentagon briefings for using headlines the administration dislikes.
From Salon ● Mar. 17, 2026
Once I finally got a grip, I pulled up the Scoreboard and made myself stare at it for thirty solid minutes while I mentally berated myself.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
Top of Wooden’s list was an insistence that Close could succeed without berating players.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 6, 2026
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
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
Former Rep. Katie Porter — an early leader in polls — late last year faltered after videos emerged of her screaming at an aide and berating a reporter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 12, 2026
He was his own sarcophagus, a bold and infallible diplomat who was always berating himself disgustedly for all the chances he had missed and kicking himself regretfully for all the errors he had made.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
Definitions 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.
