Synonym Chooser

How is the word obloquy distinct from other similar nouns?

Some common synonyms of obloquy are abuse, billingsgate, invective, and vituperation. While all these words mean "vehemently expressed condemnation or disapproval," obloquy suggests defamation and consequent shame and disgrace.

subjected to obloquy and derision

When would abuse be a good substitute for obloquy?

The synonyms abuse and obloquy 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

In what contexts can billingsgate take the place of obloquy?

While the synonyms billingsgate and obloquy are close in meaning, billingsgate implies practiced fluency and variety of profane or obscene abuse.

directed a stream of billingsgate at the cabdriver

Where would invective be a reasonable alternative to obloquy?

The words invective and obloquy are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, invective implies a comparable vehemence but suggests greater verbal and rhetorical skill and may apply to a public denunciation.

blistering political invective

When can vituperation be used instead of obloquy?

Although the words vituperation and obloquy have much in common, vituperation implies fluent and sustained abuse.

a torrent of vituperation

Examples 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 obloquy Future problems Paxton’s ability to brush aside opprobrium and obloquy in Texas politics is nearly unrivaled. Lauren McGaughy, Dallas News, 18 Sep. 2023 That’s a shame, because the airline’s 11 outside directors are arguably the guiltiest of the guilty parties in the company’s recent fiasco, the most deserving of obloquy. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 3 Jan. 2023 It’s the guy in front of the bench, though, who’s taking the brunt of the obloquy for the way that whole mess ended. Gordon Monson, The Salt Lake Tribune, 3 July 2021 This kind of bitter obloquy can be found in the editorial pages of many global publications. Annabelle Timsit, Quartz, 29 Apr. 2021 The only freedom and independence are in learning to be equally indifferent to both praise and obloquy. Kevin D. Williamson, National Review, 27 Aug. 2019 Years later, Adams wrote that his decision ‘procured me anxiety, and obloquy …. James Hohmann, Washington Post, 8 June 2018 The cross-dressing women were not often the target of obloquy or mockery. Longreads, 8 May 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for obloquy
Noun
  • Her publisher tried to stop selling the book after the abuse allegations were revealed.
    Olivia Lloyd, Miami Herald, 14 Jan. 2025
  • Local News Hill faces felony elder abuse charges, but a judge agreed with attorneys that the trial should not start this month as previously scheduled.
    Ryan Gillespie, Orlando Sentinel, 14 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • The almost $200-dollar price tag might deter someone who isn’t a Beyoncé fan from buying this, and that’s a shame because this is actually quite nice.
    Jihan Forbes, Allure, 10 Jan. 2025
  • Comments in Hill’s upload ultimately support the unnamed girl and condemn the church for the public shame.
    DeMicia Inman, VIBE.com, 8 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • This is a dangerous conflation and an insult to women who choose to cook.
    Mina Holland, Vogue, 11 Jan. 2025
  • This can be through verbal insults, physical acts like slapping and spitting, or openly degrading someone by telling them to perform humiliating tasks (say, drinking a random glass of milk in front of your work colleagues).
    Fran Tirado, Them, 10 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • There was also non-scripted fare such as the headline-grabbing Phillip Schofield: Castaway – the presenter’s first show since his exit in disgrace from ITV’s This Morning.
    Max Goldbart, Deadline, 10 Jan. 2025
  • Newly unemployed after being fired in disgrace, Hamm’s character turns to stealing from his neighbors’ homes to keep up his affluent lifestyle.
    Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 7 Jan. 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
Noun
  • Pashinyan had led the movement to oust Moscow’s influence in Armenia; he was now saddled with the odium of losing Karabakh on his watch.
    Melik Kaylan, Forbes, 9 Oct. 2024
  • By making such statements with actual malice to the public and also through social media, each of the defendants knew or should have known that their comments would be widely disseminated, exposing Judge Moore to disgrace, ridicule, odium and contempt resulting in compensatory and punitive damages.
    Paul Gattis | pgattis@al.com, al, 29 Nov. 2022
Noun
  • Meta is removing employee criticism over its hiring of UFC CEO Dana White from an internal company messaging system.
    Makena Kelly, WIRED, 9 Jan. 2025
  • The criticism is somewhat reminiscent of Texans slamming Sen. Ted Cruz for fleeing to Cancun during a statewide freeze and power loss disaster in 2021.
    James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • Dan Scavino will return to his role as deputy chief of staff, after serving as a longtime Trump communications staffer (he was held in contempt of Congress for refusing to testify in the House Jan. 6 committee investigation, but the Justice Department declined to prosecute him).
    Sara Dorn, Forbes, 11 Jan. 2025
  • The defendant has not only been held in contempt by other jurists in other matters, but this court alone found the defendant in contempt for ten distinct violations of the order restricting extrajudicial speech.
    ABC NEWS, ABC News, 10 Jan. 2025

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Thesaurus Entries Near obloquy

Cite this Entry

“Obloquy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obloquy. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.

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