as in satirical
marked by the use of wit that is intended to cause hurt feelings
a scathing rebuttal of the latest theory concerning the assassination
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in attacking
to criticize harshly and usually publicly
newspaper cartoonists scathed the lecherous governor with a series of cruel caricatures
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of scathing
Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 9 Sep. 2025
Sean Gallagher, an assistant chief who has overseen the department's response to scathing inspector general and congressional reports, said the agency is not ignoring those failures.
—Arkansas Online, 7 Sep. 2025
Hayleigh Colombo, IndyStar, 13 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scathing
Adjective
Portland artist Sam Pletcher threw the gotcha grenade with a scathing gram.
—Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 9 Sep. 2025
Sean Gallagher, an assistant chief who has overseen the department's response to scathing inspector general and congressional reports, said the agency is not ignoring those failures.
—Arkansas Online, 7 Sep. 2025
Verb
The appeals court decision was, at times, scathing toward the state's arguments in the case.
—Hayleigh Colombo, IndyStar, 13 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scathing
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scathing
Verb
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The team has started the 2025/26 season in a less than free-flowing fashion and has struggled to put up the attacking numbers that might be expected of a defending champion.—
James Nalton,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
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Atalanta comes in with resilience and attacking threats, particularly in transition, but their back line has looked shaky at times this year.—
Ben Verbrugge,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Mugs and satirical commemorative plates are some of the items that can be seen on display in a local gift shop.—
Callum Sutherland,
Time,
16 Sep. 2025
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The 2025 South Korean satirical black comedy thriller is co-written, produced and directed by Park Chan-wook (Decision To Leave, Old Boy, The Handmaiden).—
Joan MacDonald,
Forbes.com,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Center fielder Lawrence Butler was the first player to score, slamming a ball into center field during his first at-bat to lead off the first inning.—
Mathew Miranda,
Sacbee.com,
12 Sep. 2025
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The instruments detected gravitational waves, faint ripples in space-time produced by the two black holes slamming into each other.—
Jacopo Prisco,
CNN Money,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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His witty, sarcastic, and often controversial commentary is the soundtrack to a generation of wrestling fans.—
Andrew Ravens,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
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She’s matched wonderfully by Cooke, who leans into her actual Manchester accent to give Cherry a stroppy, sarcastic bent and whose body looks absolutely banging wrapped in an array of oxblood, maroon, and cerise minidresses.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Only those working at the listening station (kept separate from the rest of the compound with barbed wire and a guard shack) knew what was really going on.—
A.K. Whitney,
Oc Register,
9 Sep. 2025
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Thailand says the barbed wire was set up to prevent the planting of mines and is on its own land.—
Matthew Tostevin,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The level of anger was quickly evident in state media broadcasts - which analysts say are often a measure of official Saudi viewpoints - with television news reports personally excoriating Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.—
Pesha Magid,
Reuters,
14 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scathing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scathing. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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