to round
- verb
- /raʊnd/
- The critics quickly rounded on the new policy, expressing their strong disapproval.
Examples
-
After the speech, the audience unexpectedly rounded on the speaker for his controversial remarks.
-
I can see why it requires Spirit, and maybe Air, but why Water?" Nynaeve rounded on her.
Fiction book (1991) -
When Max came up, Daniel rounded on him, too mockingly friendly to be taken as anything but antagonistic.
Fiction book (1995) -
"I just brought 'em up here," the wagon driver protested when the angry Confederates rounded on him.
Fiction book (1992) -
Suspected Islamic militants are rounded up en masse and often held without charge or trial.
Academic text (2003) -
I will not aid in the registering, rounding up, or internment of students and colleagues on the basis of their religious beliefs.
Academic text (2016) -
Many fans rounded on their team after a disappointing season, demanding accountability from the coach.
Synonyms
To strongly criticize someone or something in public
Suddenly say angry things about someone by speaking or writing
To attack someone strongly in speech or writing
To attack violently, upset someone deeply or criticize them strongly
To criticize someone in a sly, indirect way
To suddenly attack someone with angry words
Antonyms
Idioms
To come together to show strong support for a leader or the country in danger
Phrasal Verbs
- Specialized
To reduce a number to the nearest whole number that is not more than it
- Specialized
To turn the front of a boat away from the wind so it blows from the other side
Compounds
- Literature
A large round table in stories about King Arthur where knights sit as equals
- Literature
A member of King Arthur's court who sits at the Round Table and is brave and fair
- Specialized
A small curved strip of wood or plastic used where a floor meets a wall to hide the gap
- Specialized
A small opening in the inner ear wall that leads to the part that senses sound
- UK
A regular route for delivering newspapers often done by a young person before school
- Literature
A round table where King Arthur and his knights sat as equals
- Specialized
A curved half-circle shape above a door or bridge seen in Roman buildings
Couples perform planned steps while moving in a circle to music guided by a leader
A small tree from East Asia that makes round orange fruits with sweet peel and sour flesh
- Specialized
A cord of tissue on each side of the womb that runs to the outer female genital area
- Specialized
A freshwater fish with a bronze back and white belly from northern lakes and rivers
- Specialized
A way of using the arm that swings out at shoulder height to throw or hit in sports like cricket
- Specialized
A glass container with a round body and a narrow neck used for heating or mixing chemicals
A garden plant with a round bulb and purple flower head used for food and decoration
- Specialized
A North American orchid with two round leaves and greenish white flowers on one stalk
- Specialized
A brown mushroom with a pink stem and smooth round spores that grows on wood
- Specialized
The time it takes for a light signal to travel to a spacecraft or planet and back
A small animal like a rat that lives in Florida wetlands and has a round tail
How Harsh
Surface Forms
Etymology
A helpful way to remember round meaning to attack or criticize suddenly is to think of someone turning quickly to face and attack another; the idea of turning 'round' gives the sense of a sudden verbal attack.