The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Berate \Be*rate"\ (b[-e]*r[=a]t"), v. t. [imp. & p. p.
   Berated; p. pr. & vb. n. Berating.] [See 2nd rate, v.
   t..]
   To rate or chide vehemently; to scold. --Holland. --Motley.
   [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

berating
    n 1: a severe rebuke; "he deserved the berating that the coach
         gave him" [syn: berating, blowing up]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

22 Moby Thesaurus words for "berating":
   abuse, assailing, assault, attack, bitter words, blackening,
   contumely, diatribe, execration, hard words, invective, jawing,
   jeremiad, onslaught, philippic, rating, revilement, screed, tirade,
   tongue-lashing, vilification, vituperation