verb
berate
bih-RAYT/bɪˈreɪt/
To scold or criticize someone angrily and at length.
The woman continues to berate the man across the table.
Etymology
The prefix be- intensifies an existing verb for scolding: to berate is to scold thoroughly or vehemently. The force of the criticism is therefore built into the word’s formation.
In context
She rushed over to help Lu Zikuan up, showering him with concern and then began to angrily berate Su Ye as a scoundrel, even calling Song Yiran an ungrateful and shameless woman.
More examples
- She refused to berate someone over a minor mistake.
- The manager was still berating the team when we arrived.
- He regretted having berated his assistant so harshly.
Forms
berate · berates · berated · berating