vituperate

[vahy-too-puh-reyt, -tyoo-, vi-]

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verb (used with or without object), vi·tu·per·at·ed, vi·tu·per·at·ing.

to use or address with harsh or abusive language; revile.

Origin of vituperate

1535–45; < Latin vituperātus (past participle of vituperāre to spoil, blame), equivalent to vituperā(re) (vitu-, variant (before a labial) of viti-, stem of vitium blemish, vice¹ + -perāre, combining form of parāre to furnish, provide; see prepare) + -tus past participle suffix; see -ate¹

Related formsvi·tu·per·a·tor, nounun·vi·tu·per·at·ed, adjective

Synonyms for vituperate

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censure, vilify, berate.

Antonyms for vituperate

praise, commend.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for vituperate

asperse, rate, castigate, vilify, condemn, growl, curse, traduce, scold, insult, lambaste, rail, denounce, censure, blame, abuse, upbraid, accuse, reproach, revile

Examples from the Web for vituperate

Historical Examples of vituperate

Jolly, to abuse or vituperate, sometimes to bear up or bonnet.
The Slang Dictionary
John Camden Hotten
Bibliolators may vituperate us, persecute us, or imprison us, but they cannot refute us.
Comic Bible Sketches
George W. Foote
Useless to argue with the tradesmen, to expostulate, to vituperate.
The Roll-Call
Arnold Bennett
Deviation from scenic propriety has only to vituperate itself for the consequences it generates.
Rejected Addresses
James Smith
Literature and the pulpit were inevitably the interpreters that she employed to vituperate the sins of the people.
The Cathedral
Joris-Karl Huysmans

British Dictionary definitions for vituperate

vituperate

verb

to berate or rail (against) abusively; revile

Derived Formsvituperator, noun

Word Origin for vituperate

C16: from Latin vituperāre to blame, from vitium a defect + parāre to make

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

Word Origin and History for vituperate

1540s, from Latin vituperatus, past participle of vituperare (see vituperation). "Not in common use until the beginning of the 19th c." [OED]. Related: Vituperated; vituperating.