upbraiding

American

[uhp-brey-ding] / ʌpˈbreɪ dɪŋ /

noun

the act or words of a person who upbraids; severe reproof or censure.

an upbraiding from one's superiors.

adjective

severely reproachful or reproving; censorious.

upbraiding remarks.

Other Word Forms

self-upbraiding noun
unupbraiding adjective
unupbraidingly adverb
upbraidingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of upbraiding

Middle English word dating back to 1175–1225; upbraid, -ing ¹, -ing ²

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.

It might have seemed an unusual upbraiding of a president by a sitting judge.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 5, 2026

"An actual upbraiding from the court for the Trump Org."

From Salon • Nov. 3, 2022

Kimura, who was introduced as a fun-loving jokester, attracted increased negative attention online after upbraiding a housemate for ruining one of her wrestling costumes.

From Reuters • Jun. 2, 2020

And don’t try accusing him of plagiarism or upbraiding him with your naive ideal of originality.

From Washington Post • Nov. 12, 2018

It was not until he had blundered and crashed along his way for some time, wildly upbraiding himself, that he calmed down with the realization that he was well and truly lost.

From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023