as in abuse
harsh insulting language
hurled curses and invective at the driver who heedlessly cut them off in traffic
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in abusive
marked by harsh insulting language
an overbearing, bullying boss who is fond of sending invective e-mails to long-suffering assistants
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 invective
The Daily News, New York Daily News, 16 July 2025
Douglas McCarthy, the vocalist who hectored anarchic invective with EBM innovators Nitzer Ebb and who joined Depeche Mode keyboardist Alan Wilder’s Recoil side project, died Wednesday at the age of 58.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 12 June 2025
Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 25 June 2025
Between the time the former Marine Soto was indicted in 2018 and sentenced in 2020, then-President Donald Trump offered up vitriolic invective to Mexican officials.
—Sean Campbell, The Conversation, 23 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for invective
Noun
Despite the invective and hyperbole the Guild continues to inject into the process, which have included gratuitous and nasty personal attacks, the Daily News stands ready to sit down as often as necessary and as long as necessary.
—The Daily News, New York Daily News, 16 July 2025
Douglas McCarthy, the vocalist who hectored anarchic invective with EBM innovators Nitzer Ebb and who joined Depeche Mode keyboardist Alan Wilder’s Recoil side project, died Wednesday at the age of 58.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 12 June 2025
Adjective
The explosion of sports betting might not be the reason for the increase in personal invective being spewed at games.
—Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 25 June 2025
Between the time the former Marine Soto was indicted in 2018 and sentenced in 2020, then-President Donald Trump offered up vitriolic invective to Mexican officials.
—Sean Campbell, The Conversation, 23 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for invective
Recent Examples of Synonyms for invective
Noun
-
What’s more, the administration has gutted the office that investigates allegations of abuse by agents.—
Nicole Foy,
ProPublica,
18 Oct. 2025
-
In 2023, Alex was convicted of murdering his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, amid revelations of financial crimes, drug abuse and corruption.—
Samantha Stutsman,
PEOPLE,
18 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Growing up, Amy claims her father, Terry Jordan, was emotionally abusive towards her and her mother and as a result, Deanna was not able to fully commit herself to parenting.—
Colson Thayer,
PEOPLE,
11 Oct. 2025
-
Greater transparency in pet purchases will bring to light abusive practices that take advantage of pets in order to exploit hopeful pet owners.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Oct. 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
Adjective
-
To educate all of them in similar ways is insulting, and silly.—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 Sep. 2025
-
Perkins said the drink bore the insulting message.—
Victoria Moorwood,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
22 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Carter was sitting in her chair, listening to a lesson, when Octavius Johnson, a classmate who had a crush on her, started to fire off insults.—
Jeff Pearlman,
Rolling Stone,
17 Oct. 2025
-
Politico counted 251 instances of derogatory insults in the group chat, interspersed with logistical conversations about social media strategies and collecting votes.—
Matthew Kelly,
Kansas City Star,
15 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Coen himself fretted a little over some of the script’s more outrageous moments.—
Luna Adler,
Vogue,
13 Oct. 2025
-
From lost season to lockdown closer, an outrageous development punctuated by Sasaki breezing through three perfect innings in Game 4 of the NLDS.—
Stephen J. Nesbitt,
New York Times,
12 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Addressing concerns of the studios, the legislation includes exclusions for projects such as documentaries and biographical works, or for purposes of comment, criticism, or parody, among others.—
Dade Hayes,
Deadline,
17 Oct. 2025
-
The changes come as the social media giant faces ongoing criticism over harms to children from its platforms.—
Dave Smith,
Fortune,
17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
In the years intervening, the poem has remained a lodestar, a contravening presence when, in present day America’s vituperative political landscape, the humanities disciplines and higher education itself has been forced to invoke and defend its own authority.—
Elaine L. Wang
September 11,
Literary Hub,
11 Sep. 2025
-
Even the company’s most vituperative detractors acknowledge its engineering genius and applaud its success in driving down launch expenses (unlike many defense contractors, SpaceX largely eats the cost of its failures).—
Franklin Foer,
The Atlantic,
28 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Invective.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/invective. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share