"berating" in the noun sense
1. berating, blowing up
a severe rebuke
"he deserved the berating that the coach gave him"
"berating" in the verb sense
1. call on the carpet, take to task, rebuke, rag, trounce, lecture, reprimand, jaw, dress down, call down, scold, chide, berate, bawl out, remonstrate, chew out, chew up, have words, lambaste, lambast
censure severely or angrily
"The mother scolded the child for entering a stranger's car"
"The deputy ragged the Prime Minister"
"The customer dressed down the waiter for bringing cold soup"
Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)
Princeton University "About WordNet®."
WordNet®. Princeton University. 2010.
View WordNet® License