rebuke

[ ri-byook ]

/ rɪˈbyuk /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR rebuke ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), re·buked, re·buk·ing.

to express sharp, stern disapproval of; reprove; reprimand.

noun

sharp, stern disapproval; reproof; reprimand.

Nearby words

Origin of rebuke

1275–1325; Middle English rebuken (v.) < Anglo-French rebuker (Old French rebuchier) to beat back, equivalent to re- re- + bucher to beat, strike < Germanic

SYNONYMS FOR rebuke

1 censure, upbraid, chide, admonish. See reproach.

2 reproach, remonstration, censure.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR rebuke ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

re·buk·a·ble, adjectivere·buk·er, nounre·buk·ing·ly, adverbun·re·buk·a·ble, adjective

un·re·buked, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for rebuke

This cover, I submit, is as sharp a rebuke to the “progress is over!”
This One Picture of Telly Savalas Refutes All Fears That Progress Has Ended|Nick Gillespie|October 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
What made matters worse was that the more I felt Lorne rebuke me, the more I pulled away.
My Rocky Time As A Woman Writer on ‘SNL’|Carol Leifer|April 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Instead they were a rebuke from the American electorate to Democrats who had overreached.
Democrats Have Maxed Out the Race Card|Ron Christie|December 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST
“Ordinary people will think he is disturbed and rebuke him for this, unaware that he is possessed by a god,” Plato wrote.
What is a Genius?|Nick Romeo|November 9, 2013|DAILY BEAST

If what we're doing is right, we have to be a rebuke every single day to the people who'd tear it down.
The Clinton Global Initiative Kicks off With Tears, Impressions, and Fighting Words|Nina Strochlic|September 24, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The Book of Jonah was written directly in rebuke of one form of Jewish exclusiveness.
Expositor's Bible: Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther|Walter Adeney
The pride of the general had been deeply wounded by the rebuke he had received on the field of battle.
The Student's Life of Washington; Condensed from the Larger Work of Washington Irving|Washington Irving
"Sunsets and vanity," he read drearily and penciled the rebuke away with a faint smile.
Kenny|Leona Dalrymple
The hunchback snarled his rebuke in Blaine's face and turned to Tom.
The Copper-Clad World|Harl Vincent
With all his sensitiveness to rebuke and his fair-seeming, was he not a man given to self-depreciation?
Dust|Julian Hawthorne

British Dictionary definitions for rebuke

rebuke

/ (rɪˈbjuːk) /

verb

(tr) to scold or reprimand (someone)

noun

a reprimand or scolding

Derived Formsrebukable, adjectiverebuker, noun

Word Origin for rebuke

C14: from Old Norman French rebuker, from re- + Old French buchier to hack down, from busche log, of Germanic origin

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

Word Origin and History for rebuke (1 of 2)

rebuke

early 14c., "to reprimand, reprove; chide, scold," from Anglo-French rebuker "to repel, beat back," Old French rebuchier, from re- "back" (see re-) + buschier "to strike, chop wood," from busche (French bÃ»che) "wood," from Proto-Germanic *busk- (see bush (n.)). Related: Rebuked; rebuking.

Word Origin and History for rebuke (1 of 2)

rebuke

early 15c., "a reproof, reprimand," from rebuke (v.).

rebuke

verb (used with object), re·buked, re·buk·ing.

noun

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of rebuke

Examples from the Web for rebuke

British Dictionary definitions for rebuke

rebuke

verb

noun

Word Origin for rebuke

Word Origin and History for rebuke (1 of 2)

rebuke

Word Origin and History for rebuke (1 of 2)

rebuke