CALLING DOWN Synonyms: 70 Similar and Opposite Words

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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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

Verb

The Amazon Prime Video broadcasters all considered the male Fever fan guilty before details of what actually happened came out, scolding him on air for his behavior.

— Jon Root OutKick, FOXNews.com, 30 Sep. 2026
Eventually, all charges were dropped days before trial, with Perry scolding prosecutors for violating the inherent trust placed in the office.

— Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of scolding

Verb

For decades, Zinn traveled the country lecturing to packed auditoriums.

— Barbara Spindel, Christian Science Monitor, 1 Oct. 2026
The bald guy lecturing me on how to get the money looked real enough, but the question of his true being kept rattling around my increasingly paranoid mind.

— Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2026

Definition of lecturing

Verb

And there’s a useful distinction between dressing down to make someone else comfortable and being thoughtful about the signals your clothes send.

— Morgan Sullivan, Glamour, 29 Sep. 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 shortage of supply elsewhere in London will get worse next year, Khan says, blaming it on UK regulations that have driven up construction costs, deterring new development.

— Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 9 Oct. 2026
Today, she’s stalled out and blaming her failure on happenstance.

— Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of blaming

Verb

Certainly there were clear taboos, beginning with questioning the legitimacy of the Chinese Communist Party and criticizing the country’s central leadership.

— Howard W. French, The New York Review of Books, 3 Oct. 2026
After slogans criticizing the Sacramento State administration appeared in chalk on the facade of a 64-year-old campus building earlier this week, at least one student is now facing potential disciplinary action.

— Tarini Mehta, Sacbee.com, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of criticizing

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calling

calling down

calling (for)

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“Calling down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/calling%20down. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of calling down

verb

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