revile
Americanverb (used with object)
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reviles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
reviled,
past participle, past
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reviling
present participle
verb (used without object)
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reviles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
reviled,
past participle, past
-
reviling
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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revilesimple
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revilessimple
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have reviledperfect
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has reviledperfect
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am revilingprogressive
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are revilingprogressive
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is revilingprogressive
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have been revilingperfect progressive
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has been revilingperfect progressive
Past
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reviledsimple
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had reviledperfect
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was revilingprogressive
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were revilingprogressive
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had been revilingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of revile
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English revilen, from Middle French reviler; see re-, vile
Explanation
If something is reviled, you alone don’t dislike it; a whole community of like-minded souls has to hate its guts. For instance, spam is widely reviled. (The junk e-mails, not the potted meat. Somebody out there really does like that potted meat.) If you’re the only one who hates, say, your math teacher, it’s not fair to say that person is reviled. If she is majestically unpopular with the entire senior class and is routinely the butt of geometry-themed insults, well then sadly, this instructor is indeed reviled. Generally, when someone or something is reviled, much of the poison aimed is in print, such as critical reviews or insulting editorials.
Vocabulary lists containing revile
100 SAT words Beginning with "R"
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Heart of Darkness
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The Bluest Eye
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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.
See Examples For:
But amid the ruins near the turquoise waters of the Caribbean coast, the effort is colliding with ordinary Venezuelans who revile their government.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
Critics revile them for inflating housing costs, upending neighborhoods and contributing to the forces pushing locals and Native Hawaiians to leave Hawaii for less expensive states.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 20, 2024
Her life of looking closely at those we would rather revile or ignore has earned her attention in return.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2023
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely,
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2023
Don’t we have a cheerful, simple morality here in Western Civilization: expect perfection, and revile the missed mark!
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
But Yank’s sense of dignity proves as fragile as a candle flame; it’s instantly snuffed out when Mildred appears and reviles him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, a fellow New York Republican who reviles Santos, introduced a bill this year aimed at foreclosing just that possibility.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 2, 2023
It’s human nature to bristle at the side that reviles you.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 17, 2021
To his credit, Wolff is astute and a little shamefaced when analysing the complicity between Trump and the journalists whom he officially reviles.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 1, 2020
"He has no coin and the only knight who follows him reviles him as less than a snake. The Dothraki make mock of his weakness. He will never take us home."
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
Along the way, Pike was reviled for the crime she committed.
From Slate ● Oct. 1, 2026
That was the case with 2003’s critically reviled bomb “Gigli” starring a then-engaged Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
The CJP quickly gained a huge following online, turning one of the most reviled insects into a symbol of defiance and resilience with 26 million followers on Instagram.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
Take Halle Berry, one of the more famous examples of the post-Oscar slump, winning best actress in 2001 for “Monster’s Ball” before starring in the critically reviled bomb that was 2004’s standalone “Catwoman” film.
From Salon ● Mar. 22, 2026
Throughout history, leprosy has been one of the most misunderstood, feared, and reviled diseases in the world.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
While the original XFL made a show of reviling the stodgy NFL, this iteration embraces its status as an aspirant upstart.
From Slate ● Feb. 10, 2020
The public flocked to him even while reviling his airline for its poor on-time performance and, soon enough, for its safety record.
From New York Times ● Sep. 18, 2019
Which is to say that he can never escape that St. Louis comic or that reviling mother or Aunt Fritzi or “Haim Afen Range” or, for that matter, Joel Katz.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 3, 2016
Their purpose in reviling Grass as a Nazi and anti-Semite is precisely to silence anyone who might even consider following his lead.
From Salon ● Jun. 13, 2012
His manners were very good—free but graceful—in spite of this lately-acquired habit of grumbling and reviling things in general.
From Uncle's dream; And The Permanent Husband by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Definitions 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.
