vituperation
Americannoun
noun
-
abusive language or venomous censure
-
the act of vituperating
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of vituperation
1475–85; < Latin vituperātiōn- (stem of vituperātio ), equivalent to vituperāt ( us ) ( see vituperate) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
Vituperation is a noun that refers to critical, abusive language. It's always a messy scene when a political debate slips into vituperation. Vituperation is from the Latin root words vitium, meaning "a fault or defect," and parare, meaning provide, which combined to make vituperare meaning "disparage." Vituperation can also be used to refer to feelings of bitter resentment and deep-seated antipathy toward another — like your vituperation toward the meter maid who just placed that ticket on your windshield.
Vocabulary lists containing vituperation
All About That Baseless: Bad-Faith Accusations
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Tess of the d'Urbervilles
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Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
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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.
In Whitehall, there is some hope the arrival of Lord Mandelson as the new British ambassador might help stem the flow of personal vituperation across the Atlantic.
From BBC • Jan. 3, 2025
As I’ve written, to advance this campaign the subcommittee has placed respected scientists in the dock and showered them with public vituperation, misrepresented their research and ridiculed the scientific method.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 6, 2024
But the vituperation leveled at her was so extreme that you would think she had started a war.
From New York Times • Sep. 3, 2021
Davies remembers how strongly people felt: “I would go home in a taxi, and this vituperation would pour out about what a scandalous waste of money the Dome was.”
From The Guardian • Mar. 12, 2020
His exposure of the editor was remorseless; the editor replied with personal vituperation; and Paine was about instituting a suit for libel when he died.
From The Life Of Thomas Paine, Vol. I. (of II) With A History of His Literary, Political and Religious Career in America France, and England; to which is added a Sketch of Paine by William Cobbett by Conway, Moncure Daniel
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.
