berate castigate censure chastise deprecate impugn

rebuff rebuke reprove upbraid

1) The members of the jury were sharply …rebuked……. for speaking to the press;
such a severe reprimand raises disputes over to what extent freedom of speech should
be exercised in a democratic society.
2) The prime minister’s opponents ……castigated ……… him as an ineffective
leader, severely criticising him for the constant failure to actualise his promises.
3) The coach is always …chastising……….. the players for minor mistakes, making
them feel chastened and demoralized.
4) Those who cannot appreciate entertainment values in TV sitcoms ……
deprecate…… them as childish and simpleminded
5) She ……berated…….. the paper for its misleading front-page story, publicly
condemning it at length for its lack of integrity and work ethics.
6) Sceptics have been ………impugning…… the defendant’s character, raising
reservations as to whether he actually is what he claims to be.
7) Our suggestion was immediately …rebuffed………. by the council – They did not
even bother to consider it thoroughly.
8) Done without a felicity of language, an act of ……chastising…….. students for
their own good might metamorphose into an act of ………berating………… them as
an outlet for teachers’ anger.
9) Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita, George Orwell’s 1984, or James Joyce’s Ulysses are
just a few among many novels whose controversial issues they address cause them to
be carefully censored, their authors heavily ……censured…. by some authoritarian
countries.