Definition of VITUPERATE

vituperate

Meanings

Verb

  • spread negative information about
  • To criticize (someone or something) in an abusive or harsh manner.
  • To attack (someone or something) with abusive language; to revile, to vilify.
  • To use abusive or harsh words.

Adj

  • Of, characterized by, or relating to abusive or harsh criticism.
  • Which has been abusively or harshly criticized; also, deserving harsh criticism.

Origin / Etymology

PIE word
*dwóh₁
Learned borrowing from Latin vituperātus (“censured; disparaged”), perfect passive participle of vituperō (“to blame, scold, tell off; to censure; to disparage, find fault with”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from vitium (“blemish, defect, flaw, imperfection; crime, misdeed, wrongdoing; fault, error, sin; vice; disease (of plants)”) (possibly from Proto-Indo-European *(d)wi-tyo- (“apart; wrong”), from *dwóh₁ (“two”)) + parō (“to acquire, get, obtain, procure; to arrange, order; to contrive, design; to furnish, provide; to produce; to decide, resolve”) (from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to get, procure; to produce; to bring forward; to bring forth, carry forth; to go through”)).

Synonyms

admonish, animadvert, bash, bawl out, berate, berisp, blast, castigate, censure, chastise, chew out, chide, condemn, criticize, denounce, denunciate, drag, dress down, eat someone alive, excoriate, find fault, fulminate, get down, get up, give somebody a piece of one's mind, give somebody what-for, inveigh, lace into, lambaste, lecture, light into, objurgate, pooh-pooh, put someone on blast, rail, rate, read somebody the riot act, rebuke, reprehend, reprimand, reproach, reprove, revile, rip into, rubbish, savage, scold, slam, tear into, tell off, threap, tick off, tosh, upbraid, vilify, vituperate

Scrabble Score: 15

vituperate is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
vituperate is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
vituperate is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 18

vituperate is a valid Words With Friends word