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.
We may reliably assume that further vituperation will follow.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026
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
The trial’s opening act will likely feature much the same brand of petulance and vituperation from the defendant, now redirected to the jury selection process.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 15, 2024
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
The whole matter rested at once upon its original basis—the right of Great Britain to tax the colonies—and this fair proposition of the Bostonians disarmed ministers of half their weapons of vituperation.
From Harper's New Monthly Magazine Vol. IV, No. 19, Dec 1851 by Various
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
