berate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
berates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
berated,
past participle, past
-
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
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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:
Sabalenka is always vocal on court and has been known to berate herself and roll her eyes ironically when missing points, even in her most dominant of victories.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
He added that once Arday had resigned, "What's the public interest in continuing to berate him?"
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
Noem and Lewandowski frequently berate senior-level staff within DHS and give polygraph tests to employees they don’t trust.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 13, 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
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
In one, a woman berates her husband for not voting.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 10, 2024
He pours himself a cup of tea, and berates himself for over-steeping it.
From BBC ● Dec. 12, 2023
He also berates the street vendors and tells them that he is not giving them permission to record him while simultaneously filming them on a public street.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 12, 2023
She argues with Abuela’s neighbors, picks fights with waiters, berates the man who sells ice cones on the beach.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
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
He didn’t know what possessed Aunt Hila to think that he’d eat while being berated for being too much like his father.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
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
There is romance, drama, pathos and the verbal berating of hotel staff and music video directors.
From Salon ● Dec. 24, 2025
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
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.
