as in to scold
to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings
there's no need to keelhaul him—it was an honest mistake, and a small one at that
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Recent Examples of keelhaul
And other than a recession, which generally keelhauls buyback plans, don’t expect companies to ease off their repurchases.
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Larry Light, Fortune, 20 Aug. 2019
The threat posed by the AT&T-Time Warner merger is all the greater today because of the Trump administration’s initiative in keelhauling network neutrality at the Federal Communications Commission.
—Michael Hiltzik, latimes.com, 12 June 2018
Larry Light, Fortune, 20 Aug. 2019
The threat posed by the AT&T-Time Warner merger is all the greater today because of the Trump administration’s initiative in keelhauling network neutrality at the Federal Communications Commission.
—Michael Hiltzik, latimes.com, 12 June 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for keelhaul
Verb
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Still, watching Hannah scold him about everything, from 401(k)s to boiling water to phone bills, from ordering him to walk a dog that doesn’t belong to him to telling him that riding hotel pool furniture would give her the ick, was painful.Alex Abad-Santos, Vox, 31 Oct. 2024
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Dolores returns to scold her grandson for badmouthing her during the show’s Día de los Muertos episode, which airs on NBC on Friday, Oct. 25.Brendan Le, People.com, 25 Oct. 2024
Verb
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The Democratic chair of the Senate Homeland Security Committee reprimanded the heads of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security for failing to appear for an annual hearing.Matt Robison, Newsweek, 21 Nov. 2024
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Judge denies Preston Lord defendant's request to return case to grand jury Cochise County judge reprimanded for issuing improper arrest warrant Tucson robbery cases for the year's first nine months were tacked at 598, reflecting a spike of 25 from all of last year.Jose R. Gonzalez, The Arizona Republic, 21 Nov. 2024
Verb
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They even get lectured by parents for breaking rules — but that doesn't stop them from finding a spaceship buried in the nearby woods.Christian Holub, EW.com, 1 Nov. 2024
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The whole thing reads as if it is being delivered by someone looking down over their glasses with their hands on their hips like a parent lecturing a child.Roger Valdez, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024
Verb
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An American citizen has died at a popular adventure spot in Laos where alcohol tainted with methanol has been blamed for a spate of poisonings in recent days.Mithil Aggarwal, NBC News, 22 Nov. 2024
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The spokesperson noted that the failure to win a loan guarantee from the German government wasn't down to Lilium's technology, but instead was blamed on disagreement in parliament from the Green Party over funding an air travel company.Nicole Kobie, Forbes, 22 Nov. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near keelhaul
Cite this Entry
“Keelhaul.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/keelhaul. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
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