scold

[ skohld ]
See synonyms for: scoldscoldedscoldingscolder on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)
  1. to find fault with angrily; chide; reprimand: The teacher scolded me for being late.

verb (used without object)
  1. to find fault; reprove.

  2. to use abusive language.

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

Origin of scold

1
First recorded in 1150–1200; (noun) Middle English, variant of scald, from Old Norse skald “poet” (as author of insulting poems); see skald; (verb) Middle English scolden, derivative of the noun

synonym study For scold

1. See reproach.

Other words for scold

Opposites for scold

Other words from scold

  • scold·a·ble, adjective
  • scolder, noun
  • scold·ing·ly, adverb
  • outscold, verb (used with object)
  • un·scold·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use scold in a sentence

  • He elbowed, criticised, scolded and toadied to Clement Chardin des Lupeaulx and other office-holders.

    Repertory Of The Comedie Humaine, Complete, A -- Z | Anatole Cerfberr and Jules Franois Christophe
  • A serious voice arrested the willow switch: I didnt like to be scolded when I was a little girl, it used to make me cry.

    Tessa Wadsworth's Discipline | Jennie M. Drinkwater
  • As Mata scolded, the girl nestled back among her quilts, smiling mischievously.

    The Dragon Painter | Mary McNeil Fenollosa
  • His father scolded him somewhat impatiently, and sent him back to bed again, assuring him that he had been dreaming.

    Urania | Camille Flammarion
  • When I scolded him, he undulated his silly yellow body, sprang upon his hind legs, and licked my hands.

    The Idyl of Twin Fires | Walter Prichard Eaton

British Dictionary definitions for scold

scold

/ (skəʊld) /


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

  2. (intr) to use harsh or abusive language

noun
  1. a person, esp a woman, who constantly finds fault

Origin of scold

1
C13: from Old Norse skald

Derived forms of scold

  • scoldable, adjective
  • scolder, noun
  • scolding, noun
  • scoldingly, adverb

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