vituperative

Definition

Marked by harsh abuse; abusive, often with ranting or railing.

Etymology

Formed from vituperātus, perfect passive participle of Latin vituperō (“to blame, to censure”) + -ive; by surface analysis, vituperate + -ive.

Example Sentences

• "Floris gave the play a vituperative review laced with frequent personal insults."
• "[…] ten times in a day calling the child of his prayers TRISTRAM!—Melancholy dissyllable of sound! which, to his ears, was unison to Nincompoop, and every name vituperative under heaven."
• "[…] Lady Mary saw as clearly into the bodies, and I believe souls, of every servant who approached her, as if they had been cased in chrystal. And she saw so many foulnesses there, and so many aberrations, that Lady Mary’s language was almost wholly moral and vituperative."

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