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Translation

call down

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The phrase "call down" can have a couple of different meanings and uses in English. Let's break it down to make it easier to understand.

Basic Meaning

  1. To Scold or Censure: When someone calls down someone else, it means they are scolding or criticizing them, often in a severe or angry way.

    • Example: "The teacher called down the students for not doing their homework."

  2. To Summon or Bring into Existence: In a more magical or spiritual sense, to call down something means to bring it into action or to summon it, often as if by magic.

    • Example: "The wizard called down the rain to help the crops grow."
Usage Instructions
  • Use "call down" when you want to express that someone is being reprimanded or when someone is summoning something, especially in a dramatic or emphatic way.
  • It is often used in more formal or literary contexts, especially for the magical meaning.
Advanced Usage
  • In literature or poetry, you might find "call down" used to evoke strong imagery or to convey an intense action, such as calling down supernatural forces.
Word Variants
  • Censure: To express severe disapproval.
  • Scold: To reprimand someone angrily.
  • Summon: To call upon someone or something to appear.
Different Meanings
  • While the primary meanings are scolding and summoning, the context in which "call down" is used can change its impact. For example, calling down a curse or blessing has different connotations.
Synonyms
  • For the meaning of scolding:
    • Reprimand
    • Rebuke
    • Chide
  • For the meaning of summoning:
    • Invoke
    • Conjure
    • Call forth
Related Idioms and Phrasal Verbs
  • "Call down the thunder": This idiom means to invoke powerful forces or make a strong demand.
  • "Call forth": Similar to calling down; it means to summon or bring into action.
Summary

In conclusion, "call down" can mean to reprimand someone severely or to summon something, often with a sense of urgency or magic. It is useful to understand the context to know which meaning is intended.

Verb
  1. 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
  2. summon into action or bring into existence, often as if by magic
    • raise the specter of unemployment
    • he conjured wild birds in the air
    • call down the spirits from the mountain

Synonyms

Similar Spellings

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