censure, reprimand, criminate - rebuke formally

savage, crucify, pillory - criticize harshly or violently; "The press savaged the new President"; "The critics crucified the author for plagiarizing a famous passage"

reprove, admonish - take to task; "He admonished the child for his bad behavior"

call on the carpet, chew out, chew up, chide, dress down, have words, bawl out, berate, rebuke, reproof, scold, reprimand, call down, lambast, lambaste, lecture, remonstrate, trounce, jaw, rag - censure severely or angrily; "The mother scolded the child for entering a stranger's car"; "The deputy ragged the Prime Minister"; "The customer dressed down the waiter for bringing cold soup"

reprehend - express strong disapproval of

deplore - express strong disapproval of; "We deplore the government's treatment of political prisoners"

belabor, belabour - attack verbally with harsh criticism; "She was belabored by her fellow students"

come down - criticize or reprimand harshly; "The critics came down hard on the new play"

denounce - speak out against; "He denounced the Nazis"

find fault, blame, pick - harass with constant criticism; "Don't always pick on your little brother"

disparage, belittle, pick at - express a negative opinion of; "She disparaged her student's efforts"

nitpick - be overly critical; criticize minor details

lash out, attack, snipe, assail, assault, round - attack in speech or writing; "The editors of the left-leaning paper attacked the new House Speaker"

comment, point out, remark, notice - make or write a comment on; "he commented the paper of his colleague"