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
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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:
The president and the chairman could tacitly agree to let Trump berate Warsh while Warsh absorbs it, or Trump could move on like nothing happened.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
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
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
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
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
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
Marcus berates me with endless questions about the Chili Bowl, like, “Who makes the chili?” or “Is it true you guys don’t wash the pots?”
From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy
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
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
Tears soon gave way to laughter though as Mutti berated Karli.
From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo
"I started to feel guilty and started berating myself internally for it all."
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
Top of Wooden’s list was an insistence that Close could succeed without berating players.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 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
Video footage shows Rivas and others berating the officers for complicity in what they called a “kidnapping.”
From Salon ● Oct. 24, 2025
Conversations where I imagined all the loved ones of the boys, berating myself and becoming paralyzed with guilt and confusion.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
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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.
