Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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lambastesimple
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lambastssimple
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have lambastedperfect
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has lambastedperfect
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am lambastingprogressive
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are lambastingprogressive
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is lambastingprogressive
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have been lambastingperfect progressive
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has been lambastingperfect progressive
Past
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lambastedsimple
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had lambastedperfect
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was lambastingprogressive
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were lambastingprogressive
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had been lambastingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of lambaste
Explanation
To lambaste is to reprimand or berate someone severely. People lambaste those who have angered or disappointed them. Have you ever watched a basketball game and noticed a coach yelling like a maniac at a referee? That coach is lambasting the referee. Lambasting is also called chewing out, taking to task, scolding, reprimanding, berating, bawling out, and chiding. Parents lambaste disobedient kids. A boss might lambaste a worker who is late all the time. Lambasting is severe and goes way beyond criticizing. When you are lambasting, you are furious at someone and letting them know it.
Vocabulary lists containing lambaste
Into the Wild
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The Other Wes Moore
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I've Never Been So Insulted...
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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’s one thing for Mamdani supporters to imbibe “eat the rich” rhetoric, it’s another to lambaste small-time shopkeepers as greedy exploiters when they are the backbone of neighborhood food provision and cultural cohesion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026
Gaetz, as a man, appears to be widely detested by his former colleagues, given the number willing to publicly lambaste him.
From Salon ● Nov. 14, 2024
I arranged the interview because I wanted to check in on a politician I’ve been friendly with for years yet didn’t hesitate to lambaste after her accident.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 6, 2024
No—Ackman’s saved his invective to lambaste perceived wrongdoings at Harvard, instead.
From Slate ● Dec. 14, 2023
They lambaste impartially and with a certain Irish delight in doing the job thoroughly.
From The Rules of the Game by Stewart Edward White
Schwab’s recent correspondence lambasts the Forum’s board for deploying money and using advisers to diminish his legacy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
In his 1989 journal article "Feminism, the Body, and the Machine," Berry lambasts the era's burgeoning tech revolution with jarring prescience:
From Salon ● Jun. 18, 2023
JJ, for instance, lambasts his dad for committing “human rights violations” and the senior Shaft complains about his son’s taste for exposed brick and coconut water.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2019
"I'm not suggesting she does a Hugh Grant-type public scene," he said, referring to a scene from the film Love Actually, in which a UK prime minister lambasts an American president.
From BBC ● May 10, 2019
Williams lambasts local authorities for placing children out of their local area.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 29, 2012
It was then that Tuchel may well have given the game away when he heaped praise on England's mentality but lambasted their lack of quality.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
While Muscat's cautious stance stood in sharp contrast with Gulf neighbours, who have lambasted Iran for its attacks, many have since pursued dialogue with Tehran.
From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026
Ferrari owners and lifelong fans who for years have been mocking up their own designs of what the EV might look like lambasted the design on chat forums dedicated to the carmaker.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 2026
David spoke about the outrageous audition process for “Curb,” wherein actors tried to navigate a brief written scenario without any dialogue to guide them as David lambasted them in character.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 19, 2026
You see, after you left, I got playing with the kids and they squeezed snow down my neck and I lambasted them and we had a grand lark.
From The Shadow by Mary White Ovington
This judge had complete command of her courtroom and had no qualms about lambasting anyone who ran afoul of the rules.
From BBC ● May 15, 2026
A prominent Jewish leader lambasting a sitting pope is without recent precedent.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026
Houston coach Ime Udoka was fined $25,000 by the NBA earlier this week after lambasting the officiating in the Rockets' 128-125 defeat to Denver on Monday.
From Barron's ● Dec. 21, 2025
More than 100 one-star reviews were left on her business’ Yelp page this week, with reviewers lambasting her remarks at the gala.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2025
Among the letters lambasting McCandless, virtually all those I received mentioned his misidentification of the caribou as proof that he didn’t know the first thing about surviving in the back- country.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
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.
