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definitions

scold

[skohld]
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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.
  2. common scold.

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
Related formsscold·a·ble, adjectivescold·er, nounscold·ing·ly, adverbout·scold, verb (used with object)un·scold·ed, adjective

Synonyms for scold

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1. reprove; censure. See reproach.

Antonyms for scold

1. praise.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for scolded

Contemporary Examples of scolded

Historical Examples of scolded

  • Do you not recollect that only two months ago you scolded me, and ridiculed my plans?

    The Dream

    Emile Zola

  • That he should be so scolded and badly treated was not the best for him.

  • He had no love in his heart, so he drove and scolded all the time.

  • "You oughtn't to carry the thing about with you, if it's so important," I scolded her.

    It Happened in Egypt

    C. N. Williamson

  • Martha had been in once, and had been scolded for her pains.

    The Channings

    Mrs. Henry Wood

British Dictionary definitions for scolded

scold

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
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 scolded

scold

n.

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

v.

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

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper