scathing
Americanadjective
-
bitterly severe, as a remark.
a scathing review of the play.
-
harmful, injurious, or searing.
adjective
-
harshly critical; scornful
a scathing remark
-
damaging; painful
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of scathing
Explanation
Scathing means witheringly harsh. If you enter a singing contest and the judge says that your singing is like that of a toad with laryngitis, that is scathing criticism. Scathing comes from an old Norse verb, to scathe, which means to injure by fire or lightning. Now we use it when someone’s critique is so harsh that it feels like you've been burned. If your best friend turns against you and advertises your faults to the world, and you feel like everyone is staring and talking about you, you are having a scathing experience.
Vocabulary lists containing scathing
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
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This Week In Words: Current Events Vocab for October 3–9, 2020
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100 SAT words Beginning with "S"
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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.
Wilson -- behind an acclaimed translation which Nolan has praised -- generated headlines this week after penning a scathing critique of his screenplay.
From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026
But there was a surprise omission for Lily Allen, whose scathing break-up album, West End Girl, was one of the biggest critical and commercial successes of the last 12 months.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
Emily Wilson, the academic whose 2017 translation of Homer's Odyssey was cited by the director as an influence on his adaptation of the poem, has written a scathing review of the movie.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
But when the court was closely split in major cases, Kennedy was likely to be in majority while Scalia wrote scathing and increasingly personal dissents.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026
This was a scathing criticism for a man who had just traveled three thousand miles to attend an abolitionist convention.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
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.
