scold

1. verb

Mom took Anna away, scolding her for her bad behavior

Syn:

rebuke, reprimand, reproach, reprove, admonish, remonstrate with, chastise, chide, upbraid, berate, take to task, read someone the riot act, give someone a piece of one's mind, rake/haul someone over the coals; informal tell off, dress down, give someone an earful, rap over the knuckles, let someone have it, bawl out, give someone hell, give someone what for, chew out, ream (out), light into; formal castigate

See note at rebuke

Ant:

praise

2. noun, archaic

she is turning into a scold

Syn:

nag, shrew, fishwife, harpy, termagant, harridan; complainer, moaner, grumbler; informal kvetch

••

scold, berate, chide, revile, upbraid, vituperate

A mother might scold a child who misbehaves, which means to rebuke in an angry, irritated, and often nagging way, whether or not such treatment is justified. Chide is a more formal term than scold, and it usually implies disapproval for specific failings (she was chided by her teacher for using "less" instead of "fewer"), while berate suggests a prolonged scolding, usually aimed at a pattern of behavior or way of life rather than a single misdeed and often combined with scorn or contempt for the person being criticized (he berated his parents for being too protective and ruining his social life). Upbraid also implies a lengthy expression of displeasure or criticism, but usually with more justification than scold and with an eye toward encouraging better behavior in the future (the tennis coach upbraided her players for missing so many serves). Revile and vituperate are reserved for very strong or even violent displays of anger. To revile is to use highly abusive and contemptuous language (revile one's opponent in the press), while vituperate connotes even more violence in the attack (the angry hockey players were held apart by their teammates, but they continued to vituperate each other with the foulest possible language).