as in to scold
to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings
there's no need to keelhaul him—it was an honest mistake, and a small one at that
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of keelhaul
And other than a recession, which generally keelhauls buyback plans, don’t expect companies to ease off their repurchases.
—
Larry Light, Fortune, 20 Aug. 2019
The threat posed by the AT&T-Time Warner merger is all the greater today because of the Trump administration’s initiative in keelhauling network neutrality at the Federal Communications Commission.
—Michael Hiltzik, latimes.com, 12 June 2018
Larry Light, Fortune, 20 Aug. 2019
The threat posed by the AT&T-Time Warner merger is all the greater today because of the Trump administration’s initiative in keelhauling network neutrality at the Federal Communications Commission.
—Michael Hiltzik, latimes.com, 12 June 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for keelhaul
Verb
-
Still, watching Hannah scold him about everything, from 401(k)s to boiling water to phone bills, from ordering him to walk a dog that doesn’t belong to him to telling him that riding hotel pool furniture would give her the ick, was painful.Alex Abad-Santos, Vox, 31 Oct. 2024
-
Dolores returns to scold her grandson for badmouthing her during the show’s Día de los Muertos episode, which airs on NBC on Friday, Oct. 25.Brendan Le, People.com, 25 Oct. 2024
Verb
-
In the months since, Whitaker has criticized and reprimanded the prosecution over its disorganized handling of the case.Justin Curto, Vulture, 29 Oct. 2024
-
Sometimes the moderator might also jump onto that bandwagon and reprimand the missing candidate.Lance Eliot, Forbes, 15 Oct. 2024
Verb
-
They even get lectured by parents for breaking rules — but that doesn't stop them from finding a spaceship buried in the nearby woods.Christian Holub, EW.com, 1 Nov. 2024
-
The whole thing reads as if it is being delivered by someone looking down over their glasses with their hands on their hips like a parent lecturing a child.Roger Valdez, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024
Verb
-
Alexis no longer blames herself for her baby’s death.Audrey Dutton, ProPublica, 11 Nov. 2024
-
Many Californians initially blamed Pete Wilson, who had become California’s governor in 1991.Eladio B. Bobadilla / Made by History, TIME, 5 Nov. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near keelhaul
Cite this Entry
“Keelhaul.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/keelhaul. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share