Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To scold or rebuke sharply; berate.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To chide; reprove.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To chide; to reprove.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive To rebuke or scold strongly.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb express strong disapproval of
  • verb censure severely

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin obiūrgāre, obiūrgāt- : ob-, against; see ob– + iūrgāre, to scold, sue at law (probably iūs, iūr-, law; see yewes- in Indo-European roots + agere, to do, proceed; see ag- in Indo-European roots).]

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Examples

  • Meanwhile I'll huff and objurgate with awe-inducing fallacy

    Archive 2006-10-29 Miss Snark 2006

  • It would be my advice to persons situated in this way, to not roll or thrash around, because this excites the interest of all the different sorts of animals and makes every last one of them want to turn out and see what is going on, and this makes things worse than they were before, and of course makes you objurgate harder, too, if you can.

    A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court 1889

  • It is customary to objurgate Thackeray as too moral.

    A History of the French Novel, Vol. 2 To the Close of the 19th Century George Saintsbury 1889

  • Four of his fellow-passengers followed, inspired by his example, ready to explore, to objurgate, to resist, to submit, to proceed, according as their prime factor might be inclined to sway them.

    Heart of the West [Annotated] O. Henry 1886

  • Why, then, make an exalted virtue of the necessity which drives us, and objurgate the poor black man because he prefers present ease to a doubtful prospective retirement on a competency?

    The Cruise of the Cachalot Round the World After Sperm Whales Frank T. Bullen 1886

  • It would be my advice to persons situated in this way, to not roll or thrash around, because this excites the interest of all the different sorts of animals and makes every last one of them want to turn out and see what is going on, and this makes things worse than they were before, and of course makes you objurgate harder, too, if you can.

    A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court Mark Twain 1872

  • It would be my advice to persons situated in this way, to not roll or thrash around, because this excites the interest of all the different sorts of animals and makes every last one of them want to turn out and see what is going on, and this makes things worse than they were before, and of course makes you objurgate harder, too, if you can.

    A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Part 3. Mark Twain 1872

  • He was about to objurgate, but affirmatived her motion to ring the bell for the servants, and addressed Peterborough: 'You read

    The Adventures of Harry Richmond — Complete George Meredith 1868

  • He was about to objurgate, but affirmatived her motion to ring the bell for the servants, and addressed Peterborough: 'You read 'em abroad every morning?'

    The Adventures of Harry Richmond — Volume 5 George Meredith 1868

  • He was about to objurgate, but affirmatived her motion to ring the bell for the servants, and addressed Peterborough: 'You read 'em abroad every morning?'

    Complete Project Gutenberg Works of George Meredith George Meredith 1868

Comments

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  • I objurgate the centipede,

    A bug we do not really need.

    At sleepy-time he beats a path

    Straight to the bedroom or the bath.

    You always wallop where he's not,

    And if you do, he leaves a spot.

    -- Ogden Nash

    August 21, 2008