Berate Meaning
/bɪˈɹeɪt/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo scold or criticize someone angrily and at length.
verbTo chide or scold vehemently.
Sentence Examples
The coach would berate players who didn't try hard.
There's no need to berate him for making a mistake.
If you berate me like that again, I will quit.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The angry manager began to ____ the employee for the costly mistake.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The manager would often ____ employees for minor mistakes.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₁épsder. Proto-Indo-European *h₁epider. Proto-Indo-European *h₁pi Proto-Germanic *bider. Proto-Germanic *bi- Proto-West Germanic *bi- Old English be- Middle English bi- English be- English rate English berate From be- + rate (“to scold, upbraid”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Gabord, still muttering, turned to us again, and began to berate the soldiers for their laziness."
— 1896, Gilbert Parker, chapter 13, in Seats Of The Mighty:
"A thousand times I berated myself for being drawn into such a trap as I might have known these pits easily could be."
— 1913 January–May, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “The Gods of Mars”, in The All-Story, New York, N.Y.: Frank A. Munsey Co., →OCLC; republished as chapter 21, in The Gods of Mars, Chicago, Ill.: A[lexander] C[aldwell] McClurg & Co., September 1918, →OCLC, pages 327–328:
"Lenerengo, as usual, forgot everything else in the fiercer pleasure of berating her spouse."
— 1917, Jack London, chapter 14, in Jerry of the Islands:
"During the rally, he berates the crowd for their cowardice."
— 2008 November 27, Alex Perry, “The Man Who Would Be (Congo's) King”, in Time:
"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."
— 2011, Tom Fordyce, Rugby World Cup 2011: England 12-19 France:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The angry manager began to ____ the employee for the costly mistake.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The manager would often ____ employees for minor mistakes.