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
- scathingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of scathing
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.
Leon's scathing opinion said that the decision for the project rested with Congress, which should also decide how it could be funded.
From Barron's
Outsider art in every sense of the word, and laden with scathing political and social commentary, Purifoy’s installations morph and change in the elements.
From Los Angeles Times
The company came under scrutiny in 2024 when short seller Hindenburg Research published a scathing report about the company’s accounting practices.
The writer Thomas Mann, “a conservative and a patriot,” chose exile, becoming a scathing critic of those who didn’t do likewise.
“While he was a very serious, earnest activist, he also had such an acute sense of cynical humor that is so fantastic and was capable of scathing satire,” her brother Devin added.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
