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Glite Dictionary
to round on

to round on

1 8.3
To suddenly attack someone with angry words
  • phrasal verb
  • /raʊnd ɒn/
  • UK
translation icon : atacar
  • I can see why it requires Spirit, and maybe Air, but why Water?" Nynaeve rounded on her.

Examples

  • When she rounded on him, her eyes were sparkling.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • Moiraine rounded on him, a tightness to her mouth.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Edmund halted, rounded on the man.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Hael rounded on them and glared.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • She rounded on her parents accusingly.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • 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)

  • Ridley rounded on his little sister, as diminutive as Caroline was tall.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • With the continued disinterest of Mexico, who better to turn to than the United States?" Damian rounded on him fiercely.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • "How dare you!" Dame Cecile rounded on Jocasta, her voice filled with fury.

Synonyms

to turn on
vsto round on
133 4.8

To suddenly become unfriendly or aggressive towards someone

is sudden hostility expressed as a verbal attack rather than general aggression
to round
vsto round on
47 8.2

Attack someone sharply in speech or writing

is a sudden verbal attack directed at someone
to harsh on
vsto round on
  • Informal
7 5.8

Criticize someone in a very unkind way

is often sudden and attacking rather than simply severe treatment
to get on someone's grill
vsto round on
  • Slang
9.9

To tell someone angrily that you do not like what they did

is an abrupt verbal attack that implies a sudden change of attitude
to take a sideswipe at
vsto round on
  • Offensive
8.1

To make a short indirect critical remark about someone

is a sudden direct attack rather than a brief indirect remark

Antonyms

to support
∞ 1.0

Give help to a person or idea

to defend
691 2.8

To speak up to support a person or idea when others criticize it

How Harsh

to berate
36 7.2
to lash out
71 5.6
to round on
  • UK
1 8.3
to criticize
701 3.3

Surface Forms

round on infinitive
rounded on past
rounded on past participle
rounding on present participle
rounds on third person singular

Morphology

round + on

The verb 'round' already encodes the sense 'to attack or criticize suddenly' and the particle 'on' supplies a directional/targeting sense, so combined they compositionally mean 'turn on someone and attack or criticize them'. This follows a regular verb+particle pattern in English, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would likely infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Round on comes from the image of turning quickly to face someone. Round means to turn and on shows you are now aimed at that person, so it now means 'to suddenly attack or criticize someone'.