Meaning & use
berate
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To tell someone off angrily and at length for something they did wrong.
Grammar: Always takes an object, often with for: berate him for being late.
Patterns
- berate someone for something
- berate someone for doing something
The coach berated the players for their lazy defense.
She berated the driver for ignoring the red light.
He was berated by his boss in front of the whole team.
verbtransitive
To criticize yourself harshly in your own mind or out loud.
Grammar: Usually reflexive: berate yourself.
Patterns
- berate yourself for something
He berated himself for forgetting the keys.
She spent the evening berating herself over the mistake.
Word forms
| third person singular | berates |
|---|---|
| past tense | berated |
| past participle | berated |
| -ing form | berating |
Common combinations
- berate someone for
- The customer berated the clerk for the delay.
- publicly berate
- The senator publicly berated the reporter.
- berate yourself
- Don't berate yourself over one error.
- harshly berate
- The director harshly berated the crew.
- berated by
- The students were berated by an angry teacher.
Synonyms and how they differ
- scold
- Scold is more everyday and is often used for a parent correcting a child, while berate is harsher and longer.
- rebuke
- Rebuke is a formal, sharp criticism that can be brief, while berate lasts longer.
- reprimand
- Reprimand is an official or formal telling off, often from someone in authority.
- lambast
- Lambast is fiercer and often about public, written or media criticism.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: berate or berth? berate or bereave?
berate vs berth
A berth is a place to sleep on a ship or a place to dock, and has no link with scolding.
berate vs bereave
Bereave means to take away a loved one by death and is not about criticism.
Practice
Which sentence uses berate correctly?
Choose one answer.
Berate takes a person as object and usually for plus the fault. The other sentences are ungrammatical or give berate a positive meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “berate”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.