upbraid

verb

ˌəp-ˈbrād How to pronounce upbraid (audio)
Definition of upbraidnext
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb upbraid differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of upbraid are berate, rail, revile, scold, and vituperate. While all these words mean "to reproach angrily and abusively," upbraid implies censuring on definite and usually justifiable grounds.

upbraided her assistants for poor research

When might berate be a better fit than upbraid?

Although the words berate and upbraid have much in common, berate suggests prolonged and often abusive scolding.

berated continually by an overbearing boss

When would rail be a good substitute for upbraid?

The words rail and upbraid can be used in similar contexts, but rail (at or against) stresses an unrestrained berating.

railed loudly at their insolence

Where would revile be a reasonable alternative to upbraid?

The synonyms revile and upbraid are sometimes interchangeable, but revile implies a scurrilous, abusive attack prompted by anger or hatred.

an alleged killer reviled in the press

When is it sensible to use scold instead of upbraid?

While in some cases nearly identical to upbraid, scold implies rebuking in irritation or ill temper justly or unjustly.

angrily scolding the children

When can vituperate be used instead of upbraid?

The words vituperate and upbraid are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, vituperate suggests a violent reviling.

was vituperated for betraying his friends

Example 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 upbraid The Galaxy keeper turned and appeared to upbraid his defenders before clapping and trying to rally his team. — Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2026 At a hearing two days after the government dropped its charges against Baraka, the judge upbraided Stephen Demanovich, a federal prosecutor who had been assigned the case. — Jonathan Blitzer, New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2026 In a blistering memo circulated around the agency before he was laid off in late summer, Frantz upbraided political leaders. — Brett Murphy, ProPublica, 17 Dec. 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 See All Example Sentences for upbraid
Recent Examples of Synonyms for upbraid
  1. scold
  2. reprimand
  3. lecture
  4. criticize
Verb
  • Historically, the United States has sent mixed messages to Europeans, encouraging them to step up but then scolding them for seeking autonomy.
    — JENNIFER KAVANAGH, Foreign Affairs, 28 Aug. 2026
  • In fact, during testing, the handheld triggered nostalgic memories of playing Final Fantasy Legend and Mario Land 2 on long car rides to my grandparents' house, but without the eye strain and being scolded for playing in the dark as the sun set.
    — Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of scold
Verb
  • Judge William Sullivan declined to declare a mistrial but sharply reprimanded the prosecution and told the jury to disregard Heilbrun’s statements on Clancy’s faith.
    — Melina Khan, USA Today, 25 Aug. 2026
  • The lawsuit says the officer was reprimanded and removed from further field training of Wadell.
    — Ben Wheeler, Kansas City Star, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of reprimand
Verb
  • Luann patiently attempts to explain that the women don’t like being lectured to about their business affairs, only for Vicki to abruptly answer a phone call mid-conversation.
    — Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Robert Pozen, who lectures at MIT Sloan School of Management and was formerly president of Fidelity Investments, has an answer to the obvious question about who inspects this.
    — Dara-Abasi Ita, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of lecture
Verb
  • The move came days after Stephens publicly criticized EMCC and Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference leadership over changes to the league’s football schedule and playoff format.
    — Ira Gorawara, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also defended the decision to increase bond purchases earlier last month, after investor Stanley Druckenmiller criticized the move.
    — Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of criticize

Browse Nearby Words

upbeat
upbraid
upbraided
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Upbraid.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/upbraid. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All