noun
adjective
Synonym Usage
See abuse.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of invective
1400–50; late Middle English < Late Latin invectīvus abusive, equivalent to Latin invect ( us ) (past participle of invehī to attack with words, inveigh ) + -īvus -ive
Explanation
Invective is harsh, abusive language, like "you dirty rotten scoundrel." I'm sure you can think of harsher and more obscene examples, but we won't get into them here. Invective comes from the Latin for "abusive." It kind of sounds like a harsh word, actually, with those sharp, dagger-like V's. People usually put a colorful verb or phrase before it. Some examples: "She spewed invective," "She hurled invective," "She burst forth into invective." You can follow it with a phrase like, "picking up her plate and throwing it across the room."
Vocabulary lists containing invective
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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To Kill a Mockingbird
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The economic pressure has been matched by increasing forays by Chinese aircraft and warships close to Japan, and a stream of diplomatic invective invoking Japan’s wartime past.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
They follow a pledge by leader Kim Jong Un to bolster nuclear forces, as Pyongyang reaps the benefits of deeper ties with Russia and sharpens its invective against US ally South Korea.
From Barron's ● Apr. 27, 2026
There were plenty of incendiary invective for Ross to pull from.
From Slate ● Jan. 13, 2026
The book’s finest pieces wrangle, in elegant prose, with humanity’s contradictions; the weaker ones indulge in name-dropping, footnotes and op-ed invective.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2025
Maybe there wouldn’t be the constant testing or rudeness or invective, because you’d know you were going to be together the next day.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
