calling down

verb

present participle of call down
as in scolding
to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings I was called down by my supervisor for not catching the accounting error sooner

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of calling down This year, the irrigators began calling down water on July 1, boosting flows in the Colorado River. — Elise Schmelzer, Denver Post, 16 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for calling down
  1. scolding
  2. lecturing
  3. dressing down
  4. reprimanding
  5. blaming
  6. criticizing
Verb
  • Historically, the United States has sent mixed messages to Europeans, encouraging them to step up but then scolding them for seeking autonomy.
    — JENNIFER KAVANAGH, Foreign Affairs, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Rather than scolding parents about screens, society could do more to support families in ways that obviate the need for screen time.
    — Olga Khazan, The Atlantic, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of scolding
Verb
  • Approaching hesitant individuals Health experts said that addressing vaccine-hesitant people starts with listening rather than lecturing.
    — Annika Kim Constantino, CNBC, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Today, young people are increasingly frustrated with the hypocrisy of politicians lecturing them about the virtues of voting while in practice facilitating disengagement.
    — David Neil, New York Daily News, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of lecturing
Verb
  • With kitten heels Denim doesn’t always have to mean dressing down.
    — India Roby, Glamour, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Like Bezos, whose Sun Valley uniform has included jeans with T-shirts and polo shirts, many of the male tech executives are dressing down.
    — Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 10 July 2026
Definition of dressing down
Verb
  • The audience awkwardly chuckles, and Scovel, eyes still closed, begins reprimanding them.
    — Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Her Volumnia bellows at her meek daughter-in-law, Virgilia (Justine Faith) as though reprimanding an incompetent private.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026
Definition of reprimanding
Verb
  • Vucic last week accused the West and The Hague tribunal of blaming only Serbs for the crimes and bringing no justice for the Serb victims.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Heaping credit onto Espada is dangerous, but so is blaming him for every game that goes awry.
    — Chandler Rome, New York Times, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of blaming
Verb
  • Republican lawmaker Carl DeMaio of San Diego has vocalized his opposition in discussions of the bill, criticizing the idea of providing funding to outlets that make political endorsements.
    — Suhauna Hussain, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Yiannopoulos rose to prominence through his provocative statements criticizing political correctness, feminism and Islam.
    — Chris Arnold, NPR, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of criticizing

Browse Nearby Words

calling
calling down
calling (for)
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Cite this Entry

“Calling down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/calling%20down. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

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