Complaint and Criticism · C2 English Vocabulary List

to argue and express one's disagreement or objection to something

"She remonstrates with him about his bad habits."

"The customer remonstrated with the manager about the poor service and demanded a refund for the unsatisfactory meal."

to express unhappiness in an irritable manner

"Do not grouch about every little problem."

"The old man tends to grouch about everything from the weather to the price of groceries at the supermarket."

to complain or whine persistently and often about trivial matters

"My grandmother kvetches about the weather constantly."

"My elderly neighbor loves to kvetch about the noisy children playing outside even though they only play for an hour each day."

to complain or criticize persistently, often about trivial issues

"He constantly carps about minor issues."

"My aunt tends to carp about every little thing whenever she visits including the temperature of the room and the food on the table."

to argue over unimportant things or to complain about them

"Do not quibble over small details."

"Instead of accepting the deal she began to quibble about small unimportant details which annoyed everyone at the negotiation table."

to strongly and harshly criticize someone or something

"The teacher castigated the lazy student."

"The boss publicly castigated the employee for making such a careless mistake that cost the company a very important and large client."

to find fault or criticize small, insignificant details

"Stop nitpicking every tiny mistake."

"The editor continued to nitpick every single sentence in my article instead of focusing on the larger structural issues within the text."

to criticize someone angrily and harshly

"The boss berated him for being late."

"The angry coach began to berate the players in the locker room after they lost the game by fifty points."

to severely criticize, often with the intention of correcting someone's behavior or actions

"The teacher chastised the student."

"The coach had to chastise the player for his repeated rule violations during the important championship game."

to criticize someone for doing or saying something that one believes to be wrong

"She upbraided him for his dishonesty."

"The supervisor harshly upbraided the intern for being late three times in one week and warned him that he might lose his job."

to speak loudly, expressing strong opinions or complaints

"He ranted about the poor service online."

"The angry customer began to rant about the poor service for ten minutes straight while the manager just stood there and listened silently without responding."

to make objections, often over small details without a good reason

"He always cavils at minor details."

"It is easy to cavil about minor imperfections but the overall quality of the product is actually quite good."

to express one's disagreement, refusal, or reluctance

"She demurs when asked to lead the group."

"She wanted to accept the job offer but demurred because the salary was much lower than she had expected."

to complain in a persistent and annoying manner

"Please stop whingeing about food."

"The children whinged constantly during the long car ride because they were bored and tired of sitting still."

to express dissatisfaction in a way that is annoying or repetitive

"He bleats complaints."

"The child would bleat incessantly about not getting his way, annoying everyone around him."

to express one's dissatisfaction about something, often informally

"He beefs about the poor service constantly."

"The workers beefed about the uncomfortable chairs in the office and demanded that management buy new ones."

to identify or point out flaws, errors, or shortcomings in someone or something

"Don't find fault with me."

"The manager always finds fault with the team's work, which makes everyone feel discouraged and unmotivated."

to express dissatisfaction or injustice about something

"The workers grouse about low pay."

"The soldiers began to grouse about the poor quality of the food after eating the same bland meal for three weeks straight."

to express mild disapproval, often in a gentle or corrective manner

"She chided him for forgetting her birthday."

"The mother gently chided her son for forgetting to do his chores and then asked him to complete them immediately."

to strongly and angrily criticize or complain about something

"He railed against the corrupt government."

"The protesters continued to rail against the government's new policy for hours but no one in power was listening to their complaints."

to strongly criticize or condemn

"The critic fulminates against modern art trends."

"The angry customer fulminated against the company for their poor customer service and defective products."