berate
Americanverb (used with object)
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
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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
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had beratedperfect
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was beratingprogressive
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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:
It was a reach—“I’m never mad,” Manley said—so he asked Chalamet to berate him off-camera to get worked up for a red-faced confrontation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 26, 2025
If you berate yourself for what you deem parenting mistakes, don’t let it eat away at you.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 2, 2025
One of the world's most popular streamers, Tyler "Ninja" Blevins, says trolls "berate" him every day because his number of viewers has fallen.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2025
The two shared a fascination for country music and right-wing politics, believing the best way to oppose conservatives is not to berate or ridicule but to respect and understand.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 18, 2024
We were staying with some business associates of the Courters, so they could not continue to berate me.
From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
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
We also see a previously unaired video of Stewart, recorded at home a few weeks before her sentencing in 2004, in which she berates an employee for using the wrong knife to slice oranges.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2024
Watch the moment an 'ultra' Darmstadt fan berates the players on the pitch after their 6-0 home Bundesliga defeat by Augsburg.
From BBC ● Mar. 4, 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
Lourdes berates herself for not dating an American who asked her out long ago.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
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
Back in January at the peak of the furore over Greenland, the Treasury Secretary openly berated Deutsche Bank’s George Saravelos after the currency strategist speculated that European institutions could dump $8 trillion of U.S.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 9, 2026
The station commander approached the gate of the courtyard to observe us, and then came over and berated me for standing with my hands in my pockets.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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
The Australian skipper removed him for a 13th time in Tests, more than any other bowler, with a furious Root berating himself after prodding at a full delivery and feathering to Carey.
From Barron's ● Dec. 20, 2025
The next day, a 2021 video emerged of Porter berating a staff member during a videoconference with a member of the Biden administration.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2025
It sounds as if he’s berating her, but he’s telling the girl what to do.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
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.
