Rebuke
verbTo criticise or reprimand someone sharply for a fault or wrongdoing.
How to spell rebuke
6 letters · 2 syllables
How to pronounce rebuke
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does rebuke mean?
- verbTo criticise or reprimand someone sharply for a fault or wrongdoing.
- nounA sharp expression of disapproval or criticism.
Rebuke in a sentence
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verb
The manager moved to rebuke the team for missing the deadline.
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noun
His careless report earned a stern rebuke from the director.
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verb
The judge took a moment to rebuke the lawyer for his disrespect.
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noun
The official statement was a clear rebuke to the rival company.
Where does rebuke come from?
Language of origin: French
Rebuke came into English in the 1300s from Anglo-Norman and Old French rebuker, also spelled rebucher, which meant to beat back, to repel, or to force someone down. That verb was built from the prefix re-, carrying the sense of 'back', and a base related to Old French buschier, 'to beat or strike', itself connected to busche, meaning a log or piece of wood that one might chop. The original idea, then, was strikingly physical: to drive someone back with blows. Over time the violence faded and the word settled into its modern figurative meaning of striking back at someone with sharp words of disapproval. The unusual spelling, with that -uke ending that no longer reflects any common English pattern, is a direct fossil of its French ancestry, which is exactly why writers hesitate over it.
How the word is built
- re- (back)
- buke (from Old French buchier: to beat, strike, hew)
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