These words pertain to the criticizing of one person by another. Scold is the most general and least formal of these. Often it can suggest an instance of reproof for misbehaviour that is meted out by a superior, such as a parent or teacher: She scolded the child for being late for school. In this situation, the word may specifically imply a distinction between a verbal reproach and reprimands that actually involve some form of punishment. Because of this, the word can sometimes suggest ineffectual attempts at discipline: She scolded her children frequently, but made no attempt to correct their unruly behaviour. Scold can even suggest continual nagging to no purpose, whether about serious faults or about trivialities; here, the relationship need not be between superior and inferior: a woman who constantly scolded her husband about the low pay he earned.

Chide , more formal than scold , is more exclusively focused on reproofs for specific failings. It can suggest a wider range of emotional contexts, ranging in reference from angry rebukes or taunts to charitable efforts to help someone surmount his shortcomings: gently chiding his students every time they misspelled a word; the fury with which he chided the legislators for their lack of compassion.

Upbraid stresses the lengthy expression of displeasure or criticism, often of a total performance rather than a single failing. This may take the form of a harangue, a tongue-lashing or, less severely, a pep-talk exhorting someone towards better behaviour.

• He upbraided his wife about the sloppy way she kept the household accounts; The coach upbraided his team for the way they had bungled move after move in the first half of the game.

Tell off and tick off are informal synonyms for scold which, according to context, can be earnest or half-humorous in intent; they are generally interchangeable: you should have heard the boss tell Charlie off this morning; next time I see that butcher I’ll tick him off property.

Berate can be used in a vague way for the administering of any sort of reproof, but more often it can suggest the total rejection of something or someone as being valueless, a judgement that can be delivered with no view to improving future performance. In this case, the word can also suggest an attitude of scorn or contempt for the thing being criticized, which is more often a whole pattern or way of life than a single instance of misbehaviour: a young man who berated his parents for their middle-class values.

• A teacher who berates and belittles his students is only admitting his inability to teach them anything.