berate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
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
-
beratesimple
-
beratessimple
-
have beratedperfect
-
has beratedperfect
-
am beratingprogressive
-
are beratingprogressive
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is beratingprogressive
-
have been beratingperfect progressive
-
has been beratingperfect progressive
Past
-
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:
Anyone who’s had kids in sports knows about “those parents,” the ones who coach loudly from the sidelines, berate their own offspring, and complain constantly about the same kid’s playing time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 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 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
If you berate yourself for what you deem parenting mistakes, don’t let it eat away at you.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 2, 2025
Cathy was with Damien all weekend, and when I saw' her last night, I didn’t give her a chance to berate me.
From "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins
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 one, a woman berates her husband for not voting.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 10, 2024
I have a co-worker whom I adore, but every holiday she berates me for not getting in the spirit: not wearing a Halloween costume, etc.
From New York Times ● Nov. 10, 2023
Later, as PJ surveys the damage to his toes from his too-small sneakers, he berates his feet with the same phrase.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 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
The state council report said Regan often berated Pugh when she worked at SEIU.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
Judge Subramanian berated both sides for their failure to swiftly disclose the deal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
But none of the other journalists in the Oval Office with Holmes spoke up as the president berated her.
From Slate ● Aug. 18, 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
Each of them berated you because they feared you and envied you.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
"I started to feel guilty and started berating myself internally for it all."
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
And he was angry, berating Kingsley for giving Cretton a hard time and proclaiming how much he wanted to be in this new movie.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
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
Seven turned to Thorn, fire in her gaze as she opened her hand to reveal the button she had taken from Mr. Pepperhorn’s jacket while he was busy berating them.
From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega
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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.
