up·braid

(ŭp-brād′)

tr.v. up·braid·ed, up·braid·ing, up·braids

To reprove sharply; reproach. See Synonyms at scold.

[Middle English upbreiden, from Old English ūpbrēdan, to bring forward as a ground for censure : ūp-, up- + bregdan, to turn, lay hold of.]

up·braid′er n.

up·braid′ing·ly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

upbraider - someone who finds fault or imputes blame

rebuker, reproacher, reprover

authority - (usually plural) persons who exercise (administrative) control over others; "the authorities have issued a curfew"

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References in classic literature

He felt himself riding over the hills in the breezy autumn days, looking after favourite plans of drainage and enclosure; then admired on sombre mornings as the best rider on the best horse in the hunt; spoken well of on market-days as a first-rate landlord; by and by making speeches at election dinners, and showing a wonderful knowledge of agriculture; the patron of new ploughs and drills, the severe upbraider of negligent landowners, and withal a jolly fellow that everybody must like--happy faces greeting him everywhere on his own estate, and the neighbouring families on the best terms with him.

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