noun, slang ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   an angry reprimand, castigation or telling off informal

   "give someone an earful"

2. 2
   a severe scolding wordnet
3. 3
   intimate gossip informal
4. 4
   an outpouring of gossip wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

bawling outcastigationcastigationchewing outdressing downgoing-over

Example

More examples

"If you catch a cold, I'm going to get an earful."

Etymology

From ear + -ful.

Related phrases

give someone an earfultelling off

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.