1
as in abuse
harsh insulting language
unable to mount a rational defense of her position, she unleashed a torrent of obloquy on her opponent
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in shame
the state of having lost the esteem of others
although he had beaten the murder rap, the accused murderer was condemned to live out his days in perpetual obloquy
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 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
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
-
The agents had been following leads from an anti-trafficking organization, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, that in 2015 had uncovered the abuses of harvesters at an onion farm near Vidalia.—
ProPublica,
ProPublica,
13 Sep. 2025
-
California officials are trying to kill the fossil fuel industry in the state while simultaneously seeking a buyer for Valero Energy’s Benicia refinery near San Francisco, which is scheduled to close in April because the company no longer wants to deal with the abuse from Sacramento.—
Kerry Jackson,
Oc Register,
13 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
But people can get very emotional about money, experiencing feelings from scarcity and fear to greed, anxiety, shame, and guilt.—
Gabriel Shahin,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
-
The shame falls on the person who betrayed me.—
Madison E. Goldberg,
People.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Young Thug wasn’t the only target, however, as his girlfriend, Mariah The Scientist, also caught a few shots for entertaining Thugger’s insults over the phone.—
Jessica Bennett,
VIBE.com,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Bluesky, part of the decentralized internet, is slower paced and caters to niche interests, rewarding internecine fights over minutiae, whereas X is deliberately chaotic, encouraging the gathering of follower-armies and ideological insult-comedy for an audience that may be largely made up of bots.—
Kyle Chayka,
New Yorker,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
There was no disgrace in his failure to force a spot ahead of Dominik Szoboszlai or Curtis Jones in the pecking order of attacking midfielders.—
James Pearce,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Statements in Tallahassee and Tampa Florida State opened the season receiving eight votes in the AP poll after last season’s 2-10 disgrace.—
Tom Layberger,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 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
-
Among Democrats, criticism has grown louder as the war becomes deeply unpopular with the party base.—
David Sivak,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
-
But the Cowboys, who gave out big extensions to wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and quarterback Dak Prescott, couldn't come to terms with him on a new deal, which led to Jones receiving plenty of criticism.—
Robert Marvi,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
But the friendship fell apart earlier this year when Farage refused to echo Musk’s support for Robinson, the founder of the now-defunct anti-immigration English Defence League (EDL), who was previously jailed for being in contempt of court by repeating false accusations about a Syrian refugee.—
Catherine Nicholls,
CNN Money,
14 Sep. 2025
-
My dream of becoming a woman was exchanged for a different fantasy, a kind of eternal world of teen-agers, who had nothing but contempt for adults.—
Rachel Kushner,
New Yorker,
14 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Obloquy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obloquy. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share