scold

1 of 2

verb

scolded; scolding; scolds

transitive verb

: to censure usually severely or angrily : rebuke

intransitive verb

1
: to find fault noisily or angrily
2
obsolete : to quarrel noisily
scolder noun

scold

2 of 2

noun

1
a
: one who scolds habitually or persistently
b
dated, sometimes offensive : a woman who disturbs the public peace by noisy and quarrelsome or abusive behavior
2
Choose the Right Synonym for scold

scold, upbraid, berate, rail, revile, vituperate mean to reproach angrily and abusively.

scold implies rebuking in irritation or ill temper justly or unjustly.

angrily scolding the children

upbraid implies censuring on definite and usually justifiable grounds.

upbraided her assistants for poor research

berate suggests prolonged and often abusive scolding.

berated continually by an overbearing boss

rail (at or against) stresses an unrestrained berating.

railed loudly at their insolence

revile implies a scurrilous, abusive attack prompted by anger or hatred.

an alleged killer reviled in the press

vituperate suggests a violent reviling.

was vituperated for betraying his friends

Examples of scold in a Sentence

Verb “You should never have done that,” she scolded. he scolded the kids for not cleaning up the mess they had made in the kitchen Noun He can be a bit of a scold sometimes.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has reiterated his concerns about railroad safety and scolded the industry for not doing more to improve since last year’s fiery Ohio derailment. Josh Funk, Fortune, 13 Mar. 2024 When a chatbot spits out off-base replies, ask follow-up questions or scold it to do better. Shira Ovide, Washington Post, 13 Feb. 2024 But Christie is choosing not to endorse any of the remaining candidates and scolded all of them for their tepidness in targeting Trump. Joey Garrison, USA TODAY, 11 Jan. 2024 The biggest laugh in this scene comes from Mary’s heel turn after scolding Angus for cursing and then immediately spitting out her own colorful language when talking to Paul. Tyler Coates, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Feb. 2024 Less common than posters that scold or taunt or threaten are those that entice people with Earth’s beauty. Jonathon Keats, Forbes, 12 Feb. 2024 Kaufman-Renn must’ve done something wrong on one of them, because at the next timeout Smith was scolding TKR, who scolded him back. Gregg Doyel, The Indianapolis Star, 6 Jan. 2024 Days before the tragedy, a production manager also scolded Gutierrez-Reed for spending too much time dealing with weapons and not enough on her secondary role as assistant prop master. Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 14 Feb. 2024 Daniels interjected, scolding Johnson for such posts given his large following. Alex Mann, Baltimore Sun, 13 Feb. 2024
Noun
Don’t be a scold, don’t be a moaner, don’t be a finger-wagging elitist, don’t be an eco-bore, don’t be a mentally ill homeless guy. James Parker, The Atlantic, 5 May 2022 His showdowns with the head of the local diocese, played as a puckish scold by Malcolm McDowell, are some of the best in the film. Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 12 Apr. 2022 When Roger Goodell suspended Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley for at least one full season for betting on NFL games, the commissioner was very careful with the wording of his official scold. Scott Ostler, San Francisco Chronicle, 9 Mar. 2022 Bozell, who plays a media scold on television, has written a book that despite its subtitle is neither dogmatic nor even thematic. Neal B. Freeman, National Review, 6 Jan. 2022 This is tricky to pull off, though, without turning into exactly the kind of scold that sitcoms have been mocking since time immemorial. Jeva Lange, The Week, 11 June 2021 Dude, Daniel is now married to chief scold Amanda LaRusso. Cydney Lee, Vulture, 5 Aug. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'scold.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English scald, scold, perhaps of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse skāld poet, skald, Icelandic skālda to make scurrilous verse

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 2

Noun

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of scold was in the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near scold

Cite this Entry

“Scold.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scold. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

scold

1 of 2 noun
: a person who scolds constantly

scold

2 of 2 verb
1
: to find fault noisily or angrily
2
: to criticize severely or angrily

More from Merriam-Webster on scold

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