vitriolize

American

[vi-tree-uh-lahyz] / ˈvɪ tri əˌlaɪz /

especially British, vitriolise

verb (used with object)

vitriolized, vitriolizing

to treat with or change into vitriol.
to injure or burn with sulfuric acid.

vitriolize British

/ ˈvɪtrɪəˌlaɪz /

verb

to convert into or treat with vitriol
to burn or injure with vitriol

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

unvitriolized adjective
vitriolization noun

Etymology

Origin of vitriolize

First recorded in 1685–95; vitriol + -ize

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.

Schoenberg planned it as an attack on sappiness, explaining that he wanted to “vitriolize out the cello sentimentality of the Bruchs, etc.,” referring to Max Bruch’s elegiac version, among others.

From New York Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023