as in scolding
to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings
several readers called in to rag the editor for his paper's repeated grammatical lapses
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ragging
Verb
-
Miss Sammie flashed the scolding look Jean had known since childhood, though playfully now.—
David Wright Faladé, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2025
-
Shipp is tasked with scolding her father and delivering leaden exposition.—
Verb
-
Since exiting Dries Van Noten a few years ago, Scallon has been working as an independent consultant and mentor in fashion communications strategy, also lecturing occasionally and sharing his views about creative content on podcasts.—
-
The same woman Don had been lecturing about beer.—
Verb
-
In the wake of the assassination of prominent conservative figure Charlie Kirk, the rhetoric wars have taken to new levels of vitriol, with many on the right blaming the left writ large for such political violence, and vice versa.—
-
Both parties are blaming each other, though a new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll shows that more Americans hold Republicans responsible for the impasse.—
Verb
-
Her coach Cheryl Reeve was later suspended after postgame comments criticizing the officiating in that game.—
-
Trump has also spoken at length about his concerns about the New York City mayoral race, criticizing the potential election of progressive candidate Zohran Mamdani, who drew national attention for beating former Governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary.—
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.
Cite this Entry
“Ragging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ragging. Accessed 4 Oct. 2025.
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share