rebuke

English

Etymology

From Middle English rebuken, from Anglo-Norman rebuker (“to beat back, repel”), from re- + Old French *buker, buchier, buschier (“to strike, hack down, chop”), from busche (“wood”), from Vulgar Latin *busca (“wood, grove”), from Frankish *busk (“grove”), from Proto-Germanic *buskaz (“bush”); equivalent to re- +‎ bush.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɹiˈbjuːk/, /ɹɪˈbjuːk/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uːk

Noun

rebuke (plural rebukes)

1. (of a person) A harsh criticism.
   • 2012 July 15, Richard Williams, “Tour de France 2012: Carpet tacks cannot force Bradley Wiggins off track”, in Guardian Unlimited‎^[1]:

     There was the sternness of an old-fashioned Tour patron in his rebuke to the young Frenchman Pierre Rolland, the only one to ride away from the peloton and seize the opportunity for a lone attack before being absorbed back into the bunch, where he was received with coolness.

   • 2025 April 19, Nicole Winfield, “JD Vance visits the Vatican for Easter after papal rebuke over Trump's migrant crackdown”, in The Christian Science Monitor:

     U.S. Vice President JD Vance met Saturday with the Vatican's No. 2 official, following a remarkable papal rebuke of the Trump administration’s crackdown on migrants and Vance’s theological justification of it.

   • 2025 April 21, Peter Stanford, “Pope Francis obituary”, in The Guardian‎^[2]:

     With his emphasis on accepting the science (he was a trained chemist) – and hence his stern rebuke to the climate change deniers and the politicians who courted them – he even managed to reset the relationship between science and religion, which had been rocky ever since Galileo fell foul of the Inquisition 400 years earlier.

Synonyms

• reproach, reproof, reproval, reprehension, reprimand, admonition

Translations

harsh criticism

• Bulgarian: мъмрене (bg) n (mǎmrene), порицание (bg) (poricanie), укор (bg) m (ukor)
• Catalan: reprensió f, esbroncada (ca) f, esbronc (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Czech: výčitka (cs) f, výtka (cs) f, pokárání n
• Dutch: verwijt (nl), berisping (nl)
• Egyptian: (ḏbꜥw m)
• Esperanto: riproĉo (eo)
• Finnish: soimaus, ankara kritiikki, haukkuminen (fi)
• French: reproche (fr) m, réprimande (fr) f
• Galician: bronca f
• Georgian: საყვედური (saq̇veduri)
• German: Tadel (de) m, Anschiss (de), Rüge (de), Schelte (de) f, Zurechtweisung f, Vorhaltung (de) f
• Greek: μομφή (el) f (momfí), επίπληξη (el) f (epíplixi), παρατήρηση (el) f (paratírisi)
• Irish: spreagadh m, aifirt f
• Italian: rimbrotto (it) m, reprimenda (it) f, rimprovero (it) m, richiamo (it) m, ammonimento (it) m, disappunto (it) m, rampogna (it) f
• Nepali: गाली (ne) (gālī)
• Ottoman Turkish: تربیه (terbiye)
• Persian: سرکوفت (fa) (sarkuft), عتاب (fa) ('etâb)
• Polish: zbesztanie (pl) n, besztanina f (dated)
• Portuguese: bronca (pt) f, crítica (pt) f, repreensão (pt) f, censura (pt) f
• Russian: вы́говор (ru) m (výgovor), уко́р (ru) m (ukór), упрёк (ru) m (uprjók)
• Scottish Gaelic: achmhasan m
• Spanish: reproche (es) m, reprensión (es) f, reprimenda (es) f, reprobación (es) f, regañina (es) f, regaño (es) m (colloquial), regañada (es) f, regañera (es) f, reprehensión (es) f
• Ukrainian: докір m (dokir), дорікання n (dorikannja); догана f (dohana), зауваження n (zauvažennja)

Verb

rebuke (third-person singular simple present rebukes, present participle rebuking, simple past and past participle rebuked)

1. (of a person) To criticise harshly; to reprove.

   Synonyms: reprimand, reproach, reprove, reprehend, admonish; see also Thesaurus:criticize

   • 2011, Biblica, Holy Bible: New International Version, Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, →ISBN, 6:(please specify the verse(s)):

     O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger or discipline me in Your wrath.

Translations

to criticise harshly; to reprove

• Afrikaans: beknor, berispe
• Albanian:

  Arbëresh: llavënj

• Aromanian: ncaciu, ntsertu
• Buginese: ᨙᨌᨙᨌ
• Bulgarian: укорявам (bg) (ukorjavam), порицавам (bg) (poricavam)
• Burmese: ဆူ (my) (hcu)
• Catalan: renyar (ca), esbroncar (ca), reprendre (ca), reganyar (ca)
• Cherokee: ᎠᏍᎦᎦ (asgaga)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 鬧 / 闹 (yue) (naau⁶)

  Mandarin: 訓斥 / 训斥 (zh) (xùnchì), 指責 / 指责 (zh) (zhǐzé), 非難 / 非难 (zh) (fēinàn), 譴責 / 谴责 (zh) (qiǎnzé), 罵 / 骂 (zh) (mà), 叱 (zh) (chì)

• Cornish: keredhi
• Czech: vyčítat (cs)
• Danish: bebrejde (da)
• Dutch: verwijten (nl), berispen (nl), manen (nl), aanmanen (nl), aansporen (nl), beknorren (nl), verwijten (nl), terechtwijzen (nl)
• Esperanto: admoni, riproĉi, skoldi
• Finnish: moittia (fi), haukkua (fi), sättiä (fi), parjata (fi), läksyttää (fi)
• French: reprendre (fr), réprimander (fr), gronder (fr), désapprouver (fr), reprocher (fr) (s.o. for sth.: qqch. à qqn), (literary) tancer (fr), (colloquial) engueuler (fr), (informal) mettre une chasse (fr), (informal) passer un savon (fr), (colloquial) pourrir (fr), gourmander (fr), chapitrer (fr)
• Galician: poñer a pan pedir (gl), rifar (gl)
• Georgian: ლანძღვა (lanʒɣva), საყვედურობს (saq̇vedurobs)
• German: tadeln (de), schimpfen (de) mit, ausschimpfen (de), schelten (de), ermahnen (de), mahnen (de), abmahnen (de), warnen (de), rüffeln (de), zurechtweisen (de), rügen (de), maßregeln (de), Vorwürfe machen, Ärger machen, Vorhaltungen machen, einen Verweis erteilen, verwarnen (de), abkanzeln (de), verwarnen (de), verweisen (de)
• Greek: μέμφομαι (el) (mémfomai), επιπλήττω (el) (epiplítto), αποπαίρνω (el) (apopaírno), επιτιμώ (el) (epitimó)
• Icelandic: átelja
• Ido: reprimandar (io)
• Indonesian: menegur (id), mengganjar (id), bentur (id), berbenturan (id)
• Irish: spreag, aifir
• Italian: rimbrottare (it), rimproverare (it), riprendere (it), richiamare (it), ammonire (it), sgridare (it)
• Japanese: 叱責する (ja) (しっせきする, shisseki-suru), 叱る (ja) (しかる, shikaru), 非難する (ja) (ひなんする, hinan suru)
• Korean: 힐책하다 (hilchaekhada), 질책하다 (ko) (jilchaekhada), 비난하다 (ko) (binanhada)
• Latin: obiurgō
• Maori: whakangutungutu, pātotoi
• Nepali: गाली गर्नु (gālī garnu)
• Ngazidja Comorian: ulaumu
• Northern Sami: cuiget, vuoiŋŋidit, skuldot, ávžžuhit, huvdet, láitit, láittášit, bealkit, addáladdat
• Norwegian: bestride, bebreide
• Old English: þrafian
• Papiamentu: reprochá
• Persian: سرکوفت زدن (sarkuft zadan)
• Polish: rugać (pl) impf, zrugać pf, besztać (pl) impf, zbesztać pf
• Portuguese: repreender (pt), censurar (pt), criticar (pt), incriminar (pt)
• Romanian: mustra (ro), certa (ro)
• Russian: отчи́тывать (ru) impf (otčítyvatʹ), отчита́ть (ru) pf (otčitátʹ), упрека́ть (ru) impf (uprekátʹ), упрекну́ть (ru) pf (upreknútʹ), де́лать вы́говор impf (délatʹ výgovor), руга́ть (ru) impf (rugátʹ), брани́ть (ru) impf (branítʹ)
• Scots: upcast
• Scottish Gaelic: cronaich m, càin, troid
• Slovak: skritizovať, sprdnúť (colloquial), vyčítať impf
• Spanish: regañar (es), reprochar (es), reprender (es), reprobar (es), retar (es) (colloquial), reprehender (es)
• Swahili: kukemea (sw), kulaumu
• Swedish: tillrättavisa (sv), förebrå (sv), förevita (sv), läsa lusen av någon (sv)
• Turkish: azarlamak (tr)
• Ugaritic: 𐎂𐎓𐎗 (gʿr)
• Ukrainian: докоряти (dokorjaty), дорікати (dorikaty), сварити (svaryty), картати (kartaty)
• Walloon: barboter (wa), sounayrer (wa)
• West Frisian: ferwite

Anagrams

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