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
He was so incensed by the film version of “The Choirboys” that he bought a full-page ad in Daily Variety to lambaste Lorimar Productions and director Robert Aldrich.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 28, 2025
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
No—Ackman’s saved his invective to lambaste perceived wrongdoings at Harvard, instead.
From Slate ● Dec. 14, 2023
Jake, who's been itching to lambaste the man, says 's-far's he can see, it was the poolroom man who did all the talking.
From Green Valley by Katharine Reynolds
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
Jamil often lambasts or reframes the negative narratives that articles perpetuate.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2020
"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
The head of Bayer’s pharmacological institute lambasted Hoffmann’s discovery as “worthless.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
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
In 2019, he publicly lambasted authorities for their handling of the pro-democracy protests.
From Barron's ● Apr. 7, 2026
In 2011, Acuña was one of many authors who saw their works lambasted by then-Arizona Atty.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 24, 2026
When I used to thry and sing in choorch, the ould gintleman always lambasted me for filing the saw on Sunday.
From The Cave in the Mountain A Sequel to In the Pecos Country / by Lieut. R. H. Jayne by Edward Sylvester Ellis
Pelley’s dismissal came Tuesday, one day after a staff meeting in which the correspondent interrupted Bilton’s remarks, questioning the new boss’s qualifications and lambasting Weiss’s leadership.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
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
Occasionally, he has had heated arguments with the media, lambasting outlets for "misplacing" their focus.
From Barron's ● Apr. 12, 2026
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
Then the brothers had to do some more trembling and clinging while John finished lambasting them for running away, which apparently they did about every other week.
From "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli
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.
