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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Example Sentences
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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.
—
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
To hell with a class action suit, these people should have been keelhauled under the Staten Island Ferry for a year.
—Charles P. Pierce, Esquire, 25 Oct. 2017
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
To hell with a class action suit, these people should have been keelhauled under the Staten Island Ferry for a year.
—Charles P. Pierce, Esquire, 25 Oct. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for keelhaul
Verb
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At another meeting in May 2024, Grippo scolded female employees for not working hard enough, although the team was high-performing and employees worked long hours, the lawsuit said.—
Suhauna Hussain,
Los Angeles Times,
4 June 2025
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In January at the annual World Economic Forum, President Donald Trump scolded Brian Moynihan, the CEO of Bank of America.—
Ramishah Maruf,
CNN Money,
3 June 2025
Verb
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In 2022, he was reprimanded for oxycodone trafficking.—
Armon Sadler,
VIBE.com,
22 May 2025
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The Supreme Court on Monday said Broward County Judge Mardi Levey Cohen will be reprimanded June 3 as part of discipline that also includes a 10-day suspension without pay.—
News Service Of Florida,
Sun Sentinel,
19 May 2025
Verb
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These days, nothing infuriates liberals more than to be lectured about the American plutocracy — not when Trump is perhaps the most brazenly corrupt president to hold the office in modern history.—
Alexander Heffner,
Chicago Tribune,
29 May 2025
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Maybe Healey can lecture them on how to sue Trump a hundred times and bankrupt a state on migrant hotel shelters.—
Joe Battenfeld,
Boston Herald,
27 May 2025
Verb
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India blamed Pakistan for the attack, an accusation rejected by Islamabad.—
Billy Stockwell,
CNN Money,
31 May 2025
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Man sentenced for threatening officials DENVER -- A man who blamed exposure to far-right extremist content for his online threats to kill Democratic election officials in Colorado and Arizona was sentenced to three years in prison Thursday.—
Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports,
Arkansas Online,
30 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Keelhaul.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/keelhaul. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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