SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
rail
verb
To complain or criticize in harsh, angry language.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Complain bitterly
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topRail commonly takes against or at. Denounce, condemn, and berate usually take a direct object, so substitutions may need a grammatical change.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See rail in use
The character begins to rail against rules he has never tried to understand.
Another musician continued to rail at the rival group in harsh, angry language, reviving complaints that did not address the bus times.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license