Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

upbraid

American  
[uhp-breyd] / ʌpˈbreɪd /

verb (used with object)

  1. to find fault with or reproach severely; censure.

    The military tribunal upbraided the soldier for his cowardice.

    Synonyms:
    blame, reprove
  2. (of things) to bring reproach on; serve as a reproach to.


verb (used without object)

  1. Archaic. to utter reproaches.

upbraid British  
/ ʌpˈbreɪd /

verb

  1. to reprove or reproach angrily

  2. to find fault with

"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

Related Words

See reprimand.

Other Word Forms

  • unupbraided adjective
  • upbraider noun
  • upbraiding noun
  • upbraidingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of upbraid

before 1000; Middle English; Old English upbrēdan to adduce as a fault. See up-, braid

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

But one day a close friend upbraided me for shunning Black Friday, insisting that such antisocial tightfistedness was inherently un-American.

From The Wall Street Journal

In a tense phone call on Wednesday, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III upbraided his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, over Israel’s deadly attack on a humanitarian food convoy in Gaza earlier this week.

From New York Times

That sort of upbraiding from a judge before trial has even begun should chill any trial lawyer to the bone.

From Los Angeles Times

Decades later, he upbraided player auctions in the Indian Premier League, saying that he "just did not like players being treated like horses being sold to the highest bidder".

From BBC