as in to scold
to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings
his wife upbraided him for his irresponsible handling of the family finances
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Recent Examples of upbraid
The current episode is no less dramatic than previous ones that saw Zelenskiy upbraided by Vance and Trump in an Oval Office meeting.
—
Natalia Drozdiak, Fortune, 23 Nov. 2025
During cross-examination, he was upbraided for long answers that did not immediately answer the question he had been asked.
—Greg O'Keeffe, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2025
Zelenskyy walked away from the meeting not only empty-handed, but apparently upbraided by Trump, who said Ukraine should accept Russia’s terms for ending the war — by handing over the entire eastern territory of Donbas, the epicenter of ongoing fighting in Ukraine.
—Yeo Boon Ping, CNBC, 21 Oct. 2025
Soon there was an altercation at the front desk, when a Haitian upbraided the American peons about not getting her free stuff fast enough.
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 8 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for upbraid
Natalia Drozdiak, Fortune, 23 Nov. 2025
During cross-examination, he was upbraided for long answers that did not immediately answer the question he had been asked.
—Greg O'Keeffe, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2025
Zelenskyy walked away from the meeting not only empty-handed, but apparently upbraided by Trump, who said Ukraine should accept Russia’s terms for ending the war — by handing over the entire eastern territory of Donbas, the epicenter of ongoing fighting in Ukraine.
—Yeo Boon Ping, CNBC, 21 Oct. 2025
Soon there was an altercation at the front desk, when a Haitian upbraided the American peons about not getting her free stuff fast enough.
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 8 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for upbraid
Recent Examples of Synonyms for upbraid
Verb
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Security guard Pascal Duvier, most recently infamous for allegedly scolding 11-year-old Ada Law at a hotel in São Paulo, is clearing the air.—
Emily St. Martin,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Mar. 2026
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The drama erupted last weekend when Jorginho went on Instagram Stories to say that his stepdaughter and wife were scolded at the São Paulo hotel for getting too close to Roan.—
Martha Ross,
Mercury News,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
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As a result, the officer was reprimanded for violating police department policy, including loss of take-home squad privileges and suspension from off-duty employment.—
Anna Ortiz,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Mar. 2026
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If this is for a work assignment, the consequence could be getting reprimanded for either taking too long or producing work of sub-par quality.—
Ethan Siegel,
Big Think,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
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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
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Joanna Fabicon, who has lectured on contemporary children’s literature at UCLA, added that educators, librarians and publishers must all grapple with the allegations against Chávez and decide how to move forward.—
Howard Blume,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Two advisers to Qatar told me that Global Risk had also conducted background checks and written reports on people linked to campaigns criticizing Qatar; corporate-intelligence firms often provide such open-source research.—
David D. Kirkpatrick,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
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However, in a pair of letters to the editor published in the Journal of Pediatrics, doctors criticized the article as hyped.—
David Hilzenrath,
USA Today,
29 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Upbraid.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/upbraid. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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