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invective

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adjective

Synonym Chooser

How is the word invective distinct from other similar nouns?

Some common synonyms of invective are abuse, billingsgate, obloquy, and vituperation. While all these words mean "vehemently expressed condemnation or disapproval," invective implies a comparable vehemence but suggests greater verbal and rhetorical skill and may apply to a public denunciation.

blistering political invective

When is abuse a more appropriate choice than invective?

The synonyms abuse and invective are sometimes interchangeable, but abuse, the most general term, usually implies the anger of the speaker and stresses the harshness of the language.

scathing verbal abuse

When could billingsgate be used to replace invective?

The meanings of billingsgate and invective largely overlap; however, billingsgate implies practiced fluency and variety of profane or obscene abuse.

directed a stream of billingsgate at the cabdriver

When is it sensible to use obloquy instead of invective?

Although the words obloquy and invective have much in common, obloquy suggests defamation and consequent shame and disgrace.

subjected to obloquy and derision

When would vituperation be a good substitute for invective?

While in some cases nearly identical to invective, vituperation implies fluent and sustained abuse.

a torrent of vituperation

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of invective
Noun
As a result, Thai social media is full of satire and bitter invective directed at the monarch. Tamara Loos, Foreign Affairs, 7 Dec. 2020 An official in the supreme leader’s office offered more fire-breathing invective. Daniel Depetris, Chicago Tribune, 5 Nov. 2024
Adjective
Once more, Donald Trump’s lawyers are attempting to override the guilty verdict of a jury in the Manhattan hush money case, asking the court to toss it while slinging invective at the office of District Attorney Alvin Bragg, which successfully won Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts this year. New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 5 Dec. 2024 The other sticky reality is that the vast majority of prospective CT buyers don’t pay attention to fringe media invective but make very practical buying decisions rooted in dollars and cents. Brooke Crothers, Forbes, 24 Nov. 2024 See All Example Sentences for invective
Recent Examples of Synonyms for invective
Noun
  • Someone might view losing their job as a temporary setback and remain relatively calm, while another person might experience the same circumstances as a disaster, triggering intense stress that cascades into serious health problems, such as depression and substance abuse.
    Jeffrey Anvari-Clark, The Conversation, 27 Mar. 2025
  • That same Jane Doe voluntarily dismissed her case in February; weeks later, Jay-Z sued Jane Doe, Buzbee and another attorney for malicious prosecution, abuse of process, civil conspiracy and defamation.
    KiMi Robinson, USA Today, 27 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • After leaving an abusive relationship, Simmons and her two sons became homeless.
    Kamal Morgan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 Mar. 2025
  • The allegations came after the #MeToo movement rocked Hollywood and many people spoke up after abusive workplace conditions were re-evaluated and condemned.
    Jordan Moreau, Variety, 28 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • The politicization of the COVID response has only worsened this trend, likely resulting in part from Trump’s vituperation.
    Matt Motta, Scientific American, 29 Oct. 2024
  • Flash forward 92-plus years to Donald Trump’s rally Sunday at New York’s Madison Square Garden, a bleak, lurid festival of racist hate and profane vituperation so vile that even fellow Republicans, who have turned a blind eye to Trump’s character for years, are distancing themselves from the event.
    Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2024
Adjective
  • Formula One's governing body, the FIA, has categorized certain actions and behaviors as 'misconduct,' which include insulting or inappropriate language and gestures.
    Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 20 Mar. 2025
  • Meghan’s infamous mock curtsy, which was seen as insulting… was [a] low point.
    Stephanie Nolasco, Fox News, 17 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Tariffs on Canadian exports and repeated insults by President Donald Trump about Canada becoming the 51st state have Canadians pushing back with a term hockey fans may be familiar with.
    Jalen Williams, USA TODAY, 18 Mar. 2025
  • The dispute stems from last year’s feud wherein Drake and Lamar traded increasingly personal and unverified insults in a series of songs.
    Alli Rosenbloom, CNN, 18 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • The Jetson One is an electric vertical take-off-and-landing (eVTOL) vehicle that sits in a sweet spot between commercial air taxis and outrageous flying cars.
    Michael Franco, New Atlas, 28 Mar. 2025
  • Many scandals arise from the occasion of these activities, and adulteries and other outrageous crimes are committed as a clear offence to God, a very serious danger to the souls of those committing them, and a pernicious example to others.
    The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 27 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Then came subsequent criticism about her selection for the 2024 Women’s Olympic team – especially considering Caitlin Clark’s absence – followed by her Las Vegas Aces’ loss in the 2024 WNBA Finals.
    C. Isaiah Smalls II, Miami Herald, 22 Mar. 2025
  • There have been many waves of criticism, pointing out the impossibility of carrying out the test in a precise or useful way.
    Jaron Lanier, The New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Trump’s vituperative persona, his enmity toward multilateralism, and his extreme policy agenda could easily sink the United States’ prospects for meaningful leadership of the G-20.
    Leslie Vinjamuri, Foreign Affairs, 15 Nov. 2024
  • Unlike Rhoades, a vituperative colossus, however, Williams brings a steely determination and a Joe Friday, just-the-facts mien to his lawyering in the court of public opinion.
    Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 4 Oct. 2024

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Cite this Entry

“Invective.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/invective. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.

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