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Webster 1913 Edition

Berate

Be-rate′

(bē̍-rāt′)
,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Berated
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Berating
.]
[See 2nd
rate
,
Verb.
T.
.]
To rate or chide vehemently; to scold.
Holland.
Motley.

Webster 1828 Edition

Berate

BERA'TE

,
Verb.
T.
[be and rate.] To chide vehemently; to scold.

Definition 2024

berate

berate

English

Verb

berate ‎(third-person singular simple present berates, present participle berating, simple past and past participle berated)

  1. (transitive) to chide or scold vehemently
    • 1896, Gilbert Parker, Seats Of The Mighty, ch. 13:
      Gabord, still muttering, turned to us again, and began to berate the soldiers for their laziness.
    • 1914, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Gods of Mars, ch. 21:
      A thousand times I berated myself for being drawn into such a trap as I might have known these pits easily could be.
    • 1917, Jack London, Jerry of the Islands, ch. 14:
      Lenerengo, as usual, forgot everything else in the fiercer pleasure of berating her spouse.
    • 2008, Alex Perry, "The Man Who Would Be (Congo's) King," Time, 27 Nov.:
      During the rally, he berates the crowd for their cowardice.
    • 2011, Tom Fordyce, Rugby World Cup 2011: England 12-19 France
      France were supposedly a team in pieces, beaten by Tonga just a week ago and with coach Marc Lievremont publicly berating his players, but so clear-cut was their victory that much of the atmosphere had been sucked from the contest long before the end.

Synonyms

  • See also Wikisaurus:reprehend

Related terms

Translations

Anagrams

German

Verb

berate

  1. First-person singular present of beraten.
  2. First-person singular subjunctive I of beraten.
  3. Third-person singular subjunctive I of beraten.
  4. Imperative singular of beraten.

Etymology

From be- +‎ rate ‎(“to scold, upbraid”), from Middle English raten ‎(“to scold, chide”), from Old Norse hrata ‎(“to refuse, reject, slight, find fault with”), from Proto-Germanic *hratjaną, *hratōną ‎(“to sway, shake”), from Proto-Indo-European *krad- ‎(“to swing”). Cognate with Swedish rata ‎(“to reject, refuse, find fault, slight”), Norwegian rata ‎(“to reject, cast aside”), Old English hratian ‎(“to rush, hasten”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bɪˈɹeɪt/
  • Rhymes: -eɪt

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