scathing
Americanadjective
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bitterly severe, as a remark.
a scathing review of the play.
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harmful, injurious, or searing.
adjective
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harshly critical; scornful
a scathing remark
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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.
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 • Mar. 31, 2026
The impeachment complaints filed against her cite an alleged death threat against Marcos made during a late-night press briefing that bore shades of her father's famously scathing verbal style.
From Barron's • Feb. 18, 2026
“We were told in no uncertain terms by our network’s lawyers, who called us directly, that we could not have him on the broadcast,” Colbert said in a scathing 6½-minute monologue.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 17, 2026
Instead of the usual warm embrace and pledge of continued cooperation, Vance delivered a scathing indictment of their policies and their principles.
From Salon • Feb. 17, 2026
Mad-Eye had always been scathing about Dumbledore’s willingness to trust people.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
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.
