scold

[skohld]

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verb (used with object)

to find fault with angrily; chide; reprimand: The teacher scolded me for being late.

verb (used without object)

to find fault; reprove.

to use abusive language.

noun

a person who is constantly scolding, often with loud and abusive speech.

common scold.

Nearby words

Origin of scold

1150–1200; (noun) Middle English, variant of scald < Old Norse skald poet (as author of insulting poems); see skald; (v.) Middle English scolden, derivative of the noun

SYNONYMS FOR scold

1. reprove; censure. See reproach.

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ANTONYMS FOR scold

1. praise.

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Related forms

scold·a·ble, adjectivescold·er, nounscold·ing·ly, adverbout·scold, verb (used with object)

un·scold·ed, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for scold

And then I wonder if I would be such a scold with my patients about any other issue.
Will This Pill Kill ‘Safe Sex’?|Russell Saunders|May 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Given a choice between the scoundrel and the scold, who might the people go for?
Bring on the Made-for-Reality-TV District Race Down South|Michelle Cottle|February 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The invitation from Peter Orlovsky provided an opportunity for her to scold Ginsberg once again.
The Mystery of the Allen Ginsberg-Diana Trilling Feud|Gregory Curtis|June 12, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Before you scold me: I know how famous Higgins is, and how important she was.
History’s First Draft—in Partial Praise of Print Nostalgia|Tom McGeveran|December 4, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Murray is right to worry about that separation—even if his only use of his correct perception is to scold.
What the Founders Would Tell Charles Murray|David Frum|February 7, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Meanwhile, he was amassing furniture and bric-a-brac, just as the bird bits of straw; and he implored her not to scold him.
Balzac|Frederick Lawton
The latter awoke, rubbed his one good eye, and began to scold the rustic with great ill-humor.
The Social Cancer|Jos Rizal
So instead of leaving these disgraceful little Ducks alone, which would perhaps have been wiser, she began to scold them.
The Story of a Red Deer|J. W. Fortescue
The boy's first impulse was to cry, but when he saw me he began to scold about having Beatrice loose in the barnyard.
The Red Cow and Her Friends|Peter McArthur
"I didn't want to ask you to post it, because I thought perhaps Mrs. Partridge would find out, and then she'd scold you," I said.
The Boys and I|Mrs. Molesworth

British Dictionary definitions for scold

scold

verb

to find fault with or reprimand (a person) harshly; chide

(intr) to use harsh or abusive language

noun

a person, esp a woman, who constantly finds fault

Derived Formsscoldable, adjectivescolder, nounscolding, nounscoldingly, adverb

Word Origin for scold

C13: from Old Norse skald

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 scold

scold

mid-12c., "person of ribald speech," later "person fond of abusive language" (c.1300), especially a shrewish woman [Johnson defines it as "A clamourous, rude, mean, low, foul-mouthed woman"], from Old Norse skald "poet" (see skald). The sense evolution might reflect the fact that Germanic poets (like their Celtic counterparts) were famously feared for their ability to lampoon and mock (e.g. skaldskapr "poetry," also, in Icelandic law books, "libel in verse").

scold

late 14c., "be abusive or quarrelsome," from scold (n.). Related: Scolded; scolding.

scold

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

noun

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Origin of scold

Examples from the Web for scold

scold

verb

noun

Word Origin for scold

scold

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