Forum: ell.stackexchange.com
Tags: <word-request><phrase-request>
Title: How would you say "to scold" in a less formal way?
Question: Luke’s mother  scolded  him for having spent too much money last weekend.   I've read in the Cambridge Dictionary that  to scold  is an old-fashioned term in British English, so I guess it wouldn't be used in a less formal context. How would you express the same idea in an everyday language?

Answers:
sents: text: Less formally, you might consider tell off .
text: tell sb off —
text: phrasal verb with tell ​to speak angrily to someone because they have done something wrong:
text: The teacher told me off for swearing.
text: Mum told me off for slopping water all down her shirt.
text: If you make your sister cry, you'll get told off.
text: Their teacher told them off for chattering in the lesson.
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/36187/Em.
score: 12
sents: text: The term "scold" meaning "reprimand/rebuke" is actually common, and as shown in Ngram
text: its usage is not decreasing.
text: The Oxford Learners Dictionary says it is formal , not old-fashioned, but I think you can use it also in colloquial contexts.
text: From Twelve Lauren Myracle - 2008
text: “Winnie and Ty, stop distracting your sister,” Mom scolded .
text: “Driving is very serious business.
text: One wrong turn and you could ruin a life forever.”
text: “We know, we know, we know,” I said.
text: Earlobes popping off, innocent bystanders getting killed in the blink of an eye—in Mom Land there was disaster lurking around every corner.
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/None/
score: 10
sents: text: The phrase 'to get after' would be a less formal American English way to say this.
text: This phrase doesn't seem to appear in the Cambridge Dictionary, but does show up in Macmillan's.
text: http://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/dictionary/american/get-after
text: Luke's mother got after him for having spent too much money last weekend .
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/44701/Mike Sage
score: 4
sents: text: Slang English would be "To bitch at".
text: "
text: John's mom was upset he came home with bad grades
text: and she bitched at him all night about it."
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/44712/Brandon
score: 3
sents: text: If you wanted to go really informal, you might say "to bollock".
text: As in: "I got a bollocking from my boss this morning for being late again"
text: "My girlfriend bollocked me for putting her bra in the dryer"
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/44691/Aaron
score: 1
sents: text: You've got a lot of options since your request is somewhat vague in context required .
text: Punish Chastise Ream Berate Chew out
text: Read the riot act Thrash Lay out
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/26872/kayleeFrye_onDeck
score: 1
sents: text: "Scolded" is fine -- it is not particularly formal.
text: Almost all of the suggested words are synonyms for "criticized," and many of these synonyms also carry with them an impression of the style (tone of voice, body language) in which the criticism is delivered.
text: If the criticism is intense , she "berated."
text: If the criticism is moderate, she "scolded."
text: If the criticism is mild, she "chided" or "reproached."
text: A truly formal ways of expressing criticism is "reprimanded," but this implies that the speaker is speaking in a distant or formal way, like a judge or employer.
text: A common institutional phrase is "a formal reprimand."
text: Another set of more formal words are "admonish" or "rebuke.
text: " These may be forcefully stated but convey a sense of the speaker's moral authority, like a preacher or prophet, and are often associated with religious writing, in which a holy figure admonishes or rebukes sinners (or devils).
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/45265/JeremyDouglass
score: 1
sents: text: To "have a go at" is a fairly informal/colloquial alternative.
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/44734/public static void
score: 0

Summary of the answers:
"Scolded" is fine -- it is not particularly formal. However, alternatives include to tell off, to get after, to bitch at, to read the riot act, to bollock, to chastise, to chide, to reproach, to berate, or to have a go at.
Other synonyms that could be used in this context are: "tell off", get after", "bitch at"/"bollock" (very informal), "punish", "chastise", "ream", "berate", "chew out", "read the riot act", "thrash", "lay out", "chide", "reproach", "have a go at". However, "to scold" can also be used in colloquial texts, expressing moderate criticism.