1
as in scolds
to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings
a tyrannical father who used the dinner hour to baste his children for their many perceived shortcomings
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in licks
to strike repeatedly
basted the thief with a stick while he cried out for help
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bastes
Verb
-
On our hike, Jessie Krebs scolds her boots for sliding on a slick, house-size boulder.—
Andrew McKean,
Outdoor Life,
19 Mar. 2026 -
While some online scolds didn’t like Johnson’s profanity, this has played well in Chicago, a city that has been ravenous for a winning Bears team since the 20th Super Bowl.—
Jon Greenberg,
New York Times,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Then, Mitski licks up the blood on the girl’s finger.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
16 Jan. 2026
-
After the drill, Ruin rolls onto his back, then licks a reporter's nose.—
Megan Sauer
Tasia Jensen,
CNBC,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The van’s speakers played a high-volume mashup of construction sounds, Jordan Peterson lectures, Marine Corps drills, and mumbling voices.—
Charles Bethea,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Assistive listening studies report that bypassing room acoustics and delivering audio directly can improve signal‑to‑noise ratios by 15–20 dB, making announcements comprehensible and lectures clearer [8].—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Indeed, few movies have ever been more damning or prescient in their condemnation of the health industrial complex, which hides all manner of sins under the guise of physical improvement.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
27 Mar. 2026
-
In the 1995 film, Carrey’s pet detective character hides inside a fake rhinocerous to spy on unscrupulous types in a safari setting.—
Dewayne Bevil,
The Orlando Sentinel,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
His supervisor appears as a ticket conductor and reprimands him for doing nothing.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Irons pounds the drums like Bam-Bam smashing on two garbage-can lids.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
13 Mar. 2026
-
Macron said France is expending diplomatic capital to ensure a return to calm and to allow for the Lebanese armed forces to assert themselves as Israel pounds Hezbollah positions.—
Sylvie Corbet,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Jones blames that impasse for kicking the financial stability of TSA officers like a football.—
Marvin Hurst,
CBS News,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Papperger blames the delays on Ukrainian bureaucracy.—
Simon Shuster,
The Atlantic,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
When a dog repeatedly wags and whips its tail against hard surfaces, the tip can split open, bruise or break.—
Miriam Fauzia,
Dallas Morning News,
21 Jan. 2026
-
Benbrook whips Diamond Hill-Jarvis Benbrook stayed on pace for a playoff berth in District 8-4A as the Lady Bobcats thumped Fort Worth Diamond Hill-Jarvis 55-7.—
Darren Lauber,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
21 Jan. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Bastes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bastes. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
