scold
To tell someone off angrily for doing something wrong.
scold in a sentence
- Gran scolded the puppy for chewing her favourite slippers yet again.
- Please don't scold the little ones crossly for the mess; they were only trying to bake you a cake.
Try an 11+ style question
Verbal reasoning papers often ask about a word like this.
Which word is closest in meaning to scold?
- Areprimand
- Bcompliment
- Cpraise
Show the answer
A: reprimand. The other three mean the opposite of scold.
Which word is most nearly opposite in meaning to scold?
- Arebuke
- Bpraise
- Creprimand
Show the answer
B: praise. The other three mean nearly the same as scold.
Words that mean something similar
reprimand, rebuke
Words that mean the opposite
praise, compliment
Careful: scold is not nag
Nag is about repeating. Scold is about something that has already gone wrong. Read why children mix them up.
More words about speech & sound
- shriek: To give a sudden loud high scream; or the scream itself.
- shrill: So high and piercing that it hurts your ears.
- squabble: To argue noisily about something small and unimportant.
- stammer: To speak with pauses and repeated sounds, finding it hard to get words out.
- summarise: To give the main points of something in a short way.
- summon: To officially call someone to come to you.
- taunt: To tease someone in a cruel way to upset them.
- terse: Using very few words, often in an unfriendly way.
More words to explore
Sitting the 11+ in Kent, Medway or Buckinghamshire?
Plain-English guides to each test, from the councils’ own pages: Kent Test · Medway Test · Bucks Secondary Transfer Test