rebuke
Americanverb (used with object)
-
rebukes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
rebuked,
past participle, past
-
rebuking
present participle
noun
-
rebukes
plural
verb
noun
Synonym Usage
See reproach.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
rebukesimple
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rebukessimple
-
have rebukedperfect
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has rebukedperfect
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am rebukingprogressive
-
are rebukingprogressive
-
is rebukingprogressive
-
have been rebukingperfect progressive
-
has been rebukingperfect progressive
Past
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rebukedsimple
-
had rebukedperfect
-
was rebukingprogressive
-
were rebukingprogressive
-
had been rebukingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of rebuke
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English rebuken (verb), from Anglo-French rebuker ( Old French rebuchier ) “to beat back,” equivalent to re- re- + bucher “to beat, strike,” from Germanic
Explanation
If you receive a rebuke, it means that you have been reprimanded, or scolded. You're sure to get a rebuke if you forget to do your math homework four days in a row. The word rebuke can be a verb, meaning to sternly reprimand or scold, but it can also be a noun, because a rebuke is the result of being scolded. The root comes from the Old French rebuchier and means "to hack down," or "beat back." A rebuke, then, is meant to be critical and to chide — in today's terms, a rebuke is verbal smack-down!
Vocabulary lists containing rebuke
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“Some subsequent accounts have characterized it as a condemnation, rebuke or repudiation of the symposium. A careful read of my statement will fail to find any of those words,” he wrote.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
It was hardly a withering rebuke of the British move, let alone any kind of punishment.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
The menu, embracing its red-hued simplicity, almost reads as a rebuke to its competitors.
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026
That visit sparked fury in China and South Korea and even a rare rebuke from close ally the United States.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
The rebuke hurt Thomas far more than it should have, considering he’d known this guy all of three minutes.
From "The Maze Runner" by James Dashner
But such sharp rebukes may well suggest the former first minister's standing in the party has shrunk.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
Public rebukes followed Hegseth’s decision last month to effectively fire Gen. Chris Donahue, a respected four-star commander who came up the ranks through the special forces.
From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2026
So judges keep ordering ICE to release detainees—orders the agency has repeatedly flouted, prompting scathing judicial rebukes around the country.
From Slate ● Feb. 10, 2026
Her actions drew rebukes from tennis greats Martina Navratilova and Lindsay Davenport, who said she had failed to keep to "basic etiquette" in not making noises between an opponent's serve.
From Barron's ● Jan. 24, 2026
I once told you that, after years of being adored, it was hard for me to adjust to the harsh reality of grown-ups and rebukes.
From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank
Debra Duardo essentially rebuked district budget decisions and a “fiscal stability plan” the school board approved June 16 and sent to the county for review.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s undersecretary of defense for policy, rebuked Canada in May, saying that the country had “failed to make credible progress on its defense commitments.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
They will also be the first under new Federal Reserve boss Kevin Warsh after he last month replaced Jerome Powell, who was constantly rebuked by Trump for not cutting interest rates enough.
From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026
Heath and his siblings were rebuked by their neighbors, Heath said, to the point that his brother, Phil, told the township attorney he was thinking about resigning as supervisor.
From Salon ● Apr. 27, 2026
I didn’t mind the rebuke—it is an honor to be rebuked by the king.
From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz
Figures joins a small group of businesses rebuking the idea that influencer marketing is all about reaching as many people as possible.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026
Misty Copeland, the trailblazing ballet star formerly of the American Ballet Theatre, has joined the chorus of fine arts personalities rebuking Timothée Chalamet for his dismissive comments about ballet and opera.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 11, 2026
At its peak, there were over 6,000 Shakers, joining Ann in rebuking the gruesome, incalculable evils of war and preaching moral generosity.
From Salon ● Dec. 27, 2025
His stand-up routine included jokes about dating, autism and Tourette’s, and he got extra laughs after rebuking head judge Simon Cowell.
From BBC ● May 25, 2024
As McCandless gradually stopped rebuking himself for the waste of the moose, the contentment that began in mid-May resumed and seemed to continue through early July.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
