billingsgate

Synonym Chooser

How is the word billingsgate distinct from other similar nouns?

Some common synonyms of billingsgate are abuse, invective, obloquy, and vituperation. While all these words mean "vehemently expressed condemnation or disapproval," billingsgate implies practiced fluency and variety of profane or obscene abuse.

directed a stream of billingsgate at the cabdriver

When is abuse a more appropriate choice than billingsgate?

The synonyms abuse and billingsgate are sometimes interchangeable, but abuse, the most general term, usually implies the anger of the speaker and stresses the harshness of the language.

scathing verbal abuse

In what contexts can invective take the place of billingsgate?

In some situations, the words invective and billingsgate are roughly equivalent. However, invective implies a comparable vehemence but suggests greater verbal and rhetorical skill and may apply to a public denunciation.

blistering political invective

When could obloquy be used to replace billingsgate?

The words obloquy and billingsgate are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, obloquy suggests defamation and consequent shame and disgrace.

subjected to obloquy and derision

Where would vituperation be a reasonable alternative to billingsgate?

While in some cases nearly identical to billingsgate, vituperation implies fluent and sustained abuse.

a torrent of vituperation

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for billingsgate
Noun
  • Jail records show Walker also has a pending case on suspicion of elder abuse and assault by means of force likely to cause great bodily injury.
    Ethan Wolin, Sacbee.com, 19 June 2025
  • Arsenal forward Russo was one of just many England players who spoke about the impact social media abuse can have on their well-being.
    Ben Morse, CNN Money, 18 June 2025
Noun
  • Under it, anyone who defames, insults or threatens the King, Queen, heir apparent, or regent faces three to 15 years in prison.
    Charlie Campbell, Time, 26 June 2025
  • To suggest that the lawsuit is a look into the past insults understatement, and in the process calls into question the worth of the FTC.
    John Tamny, Forbes.com, 25 June 2025
Noun
  • 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
  • His tommy-gun dialogue, much of it laced with withering invective and punctuated with profanity, started a shift in the language of both theater and movies in this country.
    David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 30 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • 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
  • 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
Noun
  • Habba’s involvement has drawn criticism from Democrats, who accuse the Trump administration of politicizing federal prosecutions.
    Essence, Essence, 26 June 2025
  • Outreach to the Jewish community Mamdani has faced some pushback, given New York's large Jewish population, over his history of comments and activism opposing Israel, including his criticism of Israel over the war in Gaza.
    Rachel Scott, ABC News, 26 June 2025
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Billingsgate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/billingsgate. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.

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