berate

Meanings

1. To criticize someone angrily and at length.
2. To scold yourself harshly for a mistake.

Example sentences

• "The manager berated the staff for being late."

  Level C1, Meaning 1

• "He berated himself for forgetting the date."

  Level C1, Meaning 2

• "Fans berated the referee after the final whistle."

  Level C1, Meaning 1

• "She berated the driver in front of everyone."

  Level C1, Meaning 1

Synonyms and antonyms

Look-alikes and common mistakes

• scold : Scold is the everyday word, often used for children. Berate is stronger and more formal, and suggests a long angry speech.
• rebuke : Rebuke is a sharp, serious criticism that may be short. Berate goes on for longer.

Word family and forms

Forms: berates, berated, berating

Word partners

Words and phrases that often go with "berate".

• berate someone for
• berate a colleague
• berate the referee
• berated publicly
• berate himself
• berate staff

Origin

Berate is made from be-, a prefix that makes a verb stronger, and the old verb rate, which meant to scold and has nothing to do with the rate of a price or a speed. It is first recorded in the 1540s.

Checked against: Wiktionary, the free dictionary, Dictionary.com.

Usage notes

Often used reflexively ("berate yourself") as well as toward others.

How to remember it

Berate sounds like rant. To berate is to rant at someone.

Test yourself

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