invective 1 of 2

invective

2 of 2

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
Yet some of us in the audience, disgusted by the persistence of Nazism and anti-immigrant invective in the present, may well appreciate the force of McQueen’s rhetoric. Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2024 Squabbling coaches — Tindall had put his fingers to his lips to hush Unai Emery after Duran’s departure, earning invective in response — added to the sense of renaissance. George Caulkin, The Athletic, 27 Dec. 2024
Adjective
Vanya absconds from the house, leaving Ani, who surprises Toros with her strength and invective. Randall Colburn, EW.com, 28 Feb. 2025 Newsletter On Politics In an era of invective and distrust, two California candidates turned a tie over to chance. Jess Bidgood, New York Times, 19 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for invective
Recent Examples of Synonyms for invective
Noun
  • Harriette Cole: Advice to mother who’s done having babies draws forceful response Elder abuse has many forms.
    R. Eric Thomas, Mercury News, 19 Apr. 2025
  • The recent amendments to Maryland’s Child Victims Act, unveiled in a month dedicated to child abuse prevention awareness — April — are deeply troubling.
    Diana Philip, Baltimore Sun, 19 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • The group of former Northwestern football players have reportedly agreed to settle their lawsuits against the school, which alleged hazing and abusive behavior.
    Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 8 Apr. 2025
  • In a 1993 interview with the Los Angeles Daily News, North said his aunt Marie Hopper — who served as his guardian when his mother was working — was physically and emotionally abusive.
    Edward Segarra, USA Today, 7 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • 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
  • 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
Adjective
  • Now, however, Memrise charges $59.99 per month, which is insulting.
    PC Magazine, PC Magazine, 16 Apr. 2025
  • To compare the incident to a possible leak of a football game plan is insulting to the U.S. military members who secure and safeguard our personal freedom each and every day.
    Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 1 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • The imitation Punisher logo on Cole’s bullet was no act of flattery, but the most vile of insults.
    Proma Khosla, IndieWire, 16 Apr. 2025
  • But some Republican registrars took them as an insult, and at least one, Lisa Amatruda of Woodbury, walked out.
    Mark Pazniokas, Hartford Courant, 16 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • As a woman, I am appalled by Michael Tanzi's outrageous actions.
    Raja Krishnamoorthi, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Apr. 2025
  • Several major automakers like Audi and Volkswagen have paused shipments to the United States to avoid paying outrageous import tariffs.
    Charles Singh, USA Today, 8 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • For an artist so focused on the future, criticism doesn’t slow him down.
    Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Apr. 2025
  • In both cases, the criticism is not completely superficial.
    Ellen Cushing, The Atlantic, 14 Apr. 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 24 Apr. 2025.

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