as in to scold
to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings
dressed down for boorish behavior at the dance
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Recent Examples of dress down
The They Cloned Tyrone actor dressed down for the occasion, wearing a pair of distressed jeans and a white T-shirt.
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Raven Brunner, Peoplemag, 24 Sep. 2024
Semi-casual yet semi-formal, they can easily be dressed down with a cardigan and loafers for work, or dressed up with a blouse and knee-high boots for date night.
—Victoria Montalti, refinery29.com, 18 Sep. 2024
And while the trend itself has a more sophisticated, uptown kind of vibe, it can be dressed down all the same.
—Laura Jackson, Vogue, 17 Sep. 2024
That doesn’t please Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, who dressed down his under-performing team earlier this week.
—Dan Schlossberg, Forbes, 12 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for dress down 
Raven Brunner, Peoplemag, 24 Sep. 2024
Semi-casual yet semi-formal, they can easily be dressed down with a cardigan and loafers for work, or dressed up with a blouse and knee-high boots for date night.
—Victoria Montalti, refinery29.com, 18 Sep. 2024
And while the trend itself has a more sophisticated, uptown kind of vibe, it can be dressed down all the same.
—Laura Jackson, Vogue, 17 Sep. 2024
That doesn’t please Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, who dressed down his under-performing team earlier this week.
—Dan Schlossberg, Forbes, 12 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for dress down
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dress down
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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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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In the months since, Whitaker has criticized and reprimanded the prosecution over its disorganized handling of the case.Justin Curto, Vulture, 29 Oct. 2024
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Sometimes the moderator might also jump onto that bandwagon and reprimand the missing candidate.Lance Eliot, Forbes, 15 Oct. 2024
Verb
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A number of companies are vying to win the business of apartment community companies interested in providing their residents with amenities that might best be called down to earth.Jeffrey Steele, Forbes, 2 Oct. 2024
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If the alarm rang outside business hours, someone would need to call down a list of seismologists until someone agreed to come in.Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 17 Sep. 2024
Verb
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Alexis no longer blames herself for her baby’s death.Audrey Dutton, ProPublica, 11 Nov. 2024
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Many Californians initially blamed Pete Wilson, who had become California’s governor in 1991.Eladio B. Bobadilla / Made by History, TIME, 5 Nov. 2024
Verb
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There’s also a story line of Harper being chewed out by Petra when Petra finds out how Harper actually got the information necessary to short Pierpoint, i.e., illegally.Nina Li Coomes, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2024
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In the following scene, which marks a turning point between Emily and Luke, Emily chews out Luke for pushing a deal that ends up costing their firm $25 million.Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 6 Oct. 2023
Verb
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Thao, the first Hmong American mayor to lead a major American city, was criticized shortly after taking office for letting go of a police chief and taking months to replace him.Kimmy Yam, NBC News, 13 Nov. 2024
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But the group has largely been shy about criticizing Trump openly.Peter Green, Quartz, 9 Nov. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near dress down
Cite this Entry
“Dress down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dress%20down. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
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