upbraid
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
-
to reprove or reproach angrily
-
to find fault with
Synonym Usage
See reprimand.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
have upbraidedperfect
-
has upbraidedperfect 3rd person singular
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am upbraidingprogressive 1st person singular
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is upbraidingprogressive 3rd person singular
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upbraidssingular 3rd person
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are upbraidingprogressive
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has been upbraidingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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have been upbraidingperfect progressive
-
upbraidingparticiple
Past
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had upbraidedperfect
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were upbraidingprogressive plural
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upbraidedparticiple
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was upbraidingprogressive singular
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upbraidedsimple
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had been upbraidingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of upbraid
before 1000; Middle English; Old English upbrēdan to adduce as a fault. See up-, braid
Explanation
No, upbraid isn’t an elaborate hairdo. When you upbraid people, you scold them, tell them off, and criticize them. (You could, however, upbraid your stylist after a bad haircut.) The word upbraid comes from the Old English word upbregdan, which literally means "bring up quickly." Although this word doesn't have anything to do with hair, upbraid and braid are, in fact, related. The original meaning of braid was "to move quickly from side to side," which is what you do with your fingers when you're braiding someone's hair. When you upbraid someone, you're quickly bringing up different reasons why you're mad at them.
Vocabulary lists containing upbraid
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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.
Kind Marian, with sweet comforts comfort him, And my tall yeomen, as you me affect, Upbraid him not with his forepassed life.
From A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 8 by Hazlitt, William Carew
But the good— Does he whom thy kind hand dismissed to peace, Upbraid the gentle violence that took off His fetters, and unbarred his prison-cell?
From Poetical Works of William Cullen Bryant Household Edition by Stoddard, Richard Henry
I. O tell na me o’ wind and rain, Upbraid na me wi’ cauld disdain!
From The Complete Works of Robert Burns: Containing his Poems, Songs, and Correspondence. With a New Life of the Poet, and Notices, Critical and Biographical by Allan Cunningham by Burns, Robert
When o'er death's ferry youth departs, Upbraid not his reluctant moan; Think of the loved and loving hearts He leaves, to cross the gulf alone.
From A Century of Emblems by Cautley, G. S.
Upbraid me not with fancied wickedness; I am not yet a queen, or an apostate.
From Dr. Johnson's Works: Life, Poems, and Tales, Volume 1 The Works of Samuel Johnson, Ll.D., in Nine Volumes by Johnson, Samuel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
