Synonym Chooser

How is the word vituperation distinct from other similar nouns?

Some common synonyms of vituperation are abuse, billingsgate, invective, and obloquy. While all these words mean "vehemently expressed condemnation or disapproval," vituperation implies fluent and sustained abuse.

a torrent of vituperation

When is it sensible to use abuse instead of vituperation?

The meanings of abuse and vituperation largely overlap; however, abuse, the most general term, usually implies the anger of the speaker and stresses the harshness of the language.

scathing verbal abuse

When is billingsgate a more appropriate choice than vituperation?

While in some cases nearly identical to vituperation, billingsgate implies practiced fluency and variety of profane or obscene abuse.

directed a stream of billingsgate at the cabdriver

In what contexts can invective take the place of vituperation?

In some situations, the words invective and vituperation are roughly equivalent. However, invective implies a comparable vehemence but suggests greater verbal and rhetorical skill and may apply to a public denunciation.

blistering political invective

When could obloquy be used to replace vituperation?

The words obloquy and vituperation are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, obloquy suggests defamation and consequent shame and disgrace.

subjected to obloquy and derision

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of vituperation Flash forward 92-plus years to Donald Trump’s rally Sunday at New York’s Madison Square Garden, a bleak, lurid festival of racist hate and profane vituperation so vile that even fellow Republicans, who have turned a blind eye to Trump’s character for years, are distancing themselves from the event. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2024 The politicization of the COVID response has only worsened this trend, likely resulting in part from Trump’s vituperation. Matt Motta, Scientific American, 29 Oct. 2024 As these things go, the tweet exposes Hotez to public vituperation on social media and possibly physical harm. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 6 June 2024 On March 12, Nickels tweeted a notice of a scientific conference in Washington at which Peter Daszak, the head of a research funding organization who has long been the target of vituperation by lab-leak advocates, would appear on a panel. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2024 The vituperation has spilled over into the Wellington protests. Ned Temko, The Christian Science Monitor, 17 Feb. 2022 What had whipped these imperious creative artists into a frenzy of dismissive vituperation was, in fact, something that most people have strong ideas about, nobody can define, and virtually everyone (besides that trio) seems to want: good taste. Daniel Mendelsohn, Town & Country, 20 Sep. 2021 Metaphorically likening Charlottesville to a rapist is a baseless vituperation against Charlottesville’s character, even more outlandish when the mayor herself is the vituperator. George Messenger, National Review, 30 Mar. 2021 Unflinchingly conservative, wildly partisan, bombastically self-promoting and larger than life, Limbaugh galvanized listeners for more than 30 years with his talent for vituperation and sarcasm. Matt Sedensky, Star Tribune, 17 Feb. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vituperation
Noun
  • Remarkably, waste, fraud, and abuse for these folks are not part of the discussion.
    Gary Franks, Hartford Courant, 15 Mar. 2025
  • The footage also shows the now obligatory abuse, as the wheeled warrior continuously rights itself as it gets pushed around.
    Paul Ridden, New Atlas, 15 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Such invective, coming from a saboteur with firsthand experience of institutional prudishness, put DeGenevieve in a paradoxical position: that of a professor who, because she was tenured, had the luxury of deriding her own ivory tower.
    Jeremy Lybarger, Artforum, 1 Feb. 2025
  • Yet some of us in the audience, disgusted by the persistence of Nazism and anti-immigrant invective in the present, may well appreciate the force of McQueen’s rhetoric.
    Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2024
Noun
  • The previous time Lilian had seen Imelda, who was sitting next to her in London, was ten years earlier, when her children were alive, but with some people mindless small talk would be an insult.
    Yiyun Li, The New Yorker, 9 Mar. 2025
  • That’s because Trump’s approach isn’t just an insult to Zelensky but to Ukraine itself and its institution of national leadership.
    Illia Ponomarenko, TIME, 6 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Despite his criticism over the cost of her preparation or the size of her support team, Wu did well in standing up for the city, Kraft said.
    Matthew Medsger, Boston Herald, 10 Mar. 2025
  • Prominent pro-Israel voices, as well as critics of Israel, defended the movie — or at least called on their allies to tone down the criticism.
    Ben Sales, Sun Sentinel, 10 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Vituperation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vituperation. Accessed 19 Mar. 2025.

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