berate

American

[bih-reyt] / bɪˈreɪt /

verb (used with object)

berated, berating

to scold; rebuke.

He berated them in public.

Synonyms:

vilify, objurgate, vituperate, abuse

berate British

/ bɪˈreɪt /

verb

(tr) to scold harshly

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of berate

First recorded in 1540–50; be- + rate ²

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.

Within DHS, Noem and Lewandowski frequently berate senior level staff, give polygraph tests to employees they don’t trust and have fired employees—in one incident, Lewandowski fired a U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 13, 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

If you berate yourself for what you deem parenting mistakes, don’t let it eat away at you.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 2, 2025

With no Russell Martin to berate now, it was the players who felt the full force of a furious fanbase by the full-time whistle.

From BBC • Oct. 18, 2025

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

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023