upbraid

/ˌʌpˈbɹeɪd/

Etymology

From Middle English upbreyden, from Old English upbreġdan, equivalent to up- + braid. Compare English umbraid (“to upbraid”), Icelandic bregða (“to draw, brandish, braid, deviate from, change, break off, upbraid”). See up, and braid (transitive).

upbraid means the act of reproaching; scorn; disdain. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 84 out of 100.

Why this word is great

UPBRAID — [Verb] To reproach or criticize someone severely, especially for a fault or misdeed. From Middle English upbreyden, from Old English upbreġdan, equivalent to up- (expressing upward or forth) + bregdan ("to move quickly, pull, brandish, weave"), thus originally meaning "to bring forth as a charge." Unlike "reproach," which carries the quiet sting of personal disappointment, or "chide," which implies a fussy, mild scolding, to upbraid is to formally brandish a weighty indictment. It is the schoolmaster’s cold, precise enumeration of failures; the prosecutor’s steady, damning recitation of evidence; the lover’s unforgiving catalogue of betrayals, each syllable a nail driven home. This is language used not to correct, but to condemn—the finished garment of shame woven from the threads of fault.

noun

The act of reproaching; scorn; disdain.“He was ymet; who with uncomely Shame Gan him salute, and foul upbraid with faulty Blame.”

verb

To criticize severely.“How much doth thy kindness upbraid my wickedness!”
To charge with something wrong or disgraceful; to reproach“Yet do not upbraid us our distress.”
To treat with contempt.“There also was that mighty monarch laid, Low under all, yet above all in pride; That name of native fire did foul upbraid, And would, as Ammon's son, be magnify'd.”
To object or urge as a matter of reproach“Those that have been bred together, are more apt to envy their equals when raised: for it doth upbraid unto them their own fortunes, and pointeth at them.”
To utter upbraidings.
To vomit; retch.