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
-
beratesimple
-
beratessimple
-
have beratedperfect
-
has beratedperfect
-
am beratingprogressive
-
are beratingprogressive
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is beratingprogressive
-
have been beratingperfect progressive
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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:
He added that once Arday had resigned, "What's the public interest in continuing to berate him?"
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 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
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
Before he can mentally berate himself for doing something so silly, the fortune-teller smiles, though for a moment there is something almost sad beneath it.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
Alongside scenes where Guardiola obsesses over tactics, there are many where he gives candid speeches and berates his team.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
I like it when Bill Plaschke berates himself.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 13, 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
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
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
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
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
The chief guard on duty berated me for arriving a day later than my orders specified, and sent me to the barracks.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
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
Since Takaichi’s remark on Taiwan in November, Beijing’s retaliation has included berating Tokyo at the United Nations, canceling flights to Japan and tightening export controls on goods with potential military uses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 13, 2026
Video footage shows Rivas and others berating the officers for complicity in what they called a “kidnapping.”
From Salon ● Oct. 24, 2025
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
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.
