upbraid
up-BRAYDverbMeaning to scold sharply
Memory hook UP-BRAID: a scolding while braiding. Tugging Lila’s tangled braids up tight, Aunt Tia scolds, “Do you EVER brush?” She upbraids her.
Mom upbraided us for tracking mud across the clean kitchen floor.
In context Instead of thanking the volunteers, the manager upbraided them for arriving five minutes late, and half of them never came back.
Similar scold, rebuke, berate, chastise
Opposite praise, commend