earful
11
6.5
- noun
- /ˈɪrˌfəl/
- Informal
- She gave her son an earful for not cleaning his room, stressing the need for discipline.
- get an earful
- give me an earful
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Watch on YouTubeI just, Santa's going to get an earful from me in my next letter.
- I just, Santa's going to get an earful from me in my next letter.
Examples
-
Later she'd give him an earful, but he wouldn't write anything down.
Fiction book (2002) -
Aubrey was giving him an earful as usual.
-
So, I gave him an earful and let it go.
-
Dad already gave me an earful, so, uh--
-
Because of that, I just got an earful from the Director himself, after he got an earful from The White House.
-
I hope you gave them an earful and asked them to walk one day in your shoes.
Blog text (27) -
And he gave us an earful!
Blog text (21) -
Boy, did he get an earful!
Blog text (20) -
I'm giving them a right earful, now, Sister.
-
Fitzy's gonna get an earful at the town meeting today.
Synonyms
6
3.3
A strong angry talk that tells someone they did something wrong
5
7.6
A strong angry talk that scolds someone for a mistake
4
8.8
A strong scolding you get when someone is angry with you
2
6.1
A severe scolding from someone in charge, often in front of other people
1
9.0
Severe criticism or punishment using harsh words
1
6.3
A strong angry talk that tells someone they did something wrong
1
7.4
A strong scolding you get for doing something wrong
1
7.0
A severe scolding for doing something wrong
1
8.5
A harsh telling off given for a serious mistake
A loud angry scolding for someone who did something wrong
A loud, angry talk that tells someone they made a mistake
Antonyms
Idioms
How Severe
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Earful comes from ear and -ful, where -ful means 'full of'. So, imagine your ear being 'filled' with loud, angry words; that image helps you remember that an earful often means a strong, angry scolding.