as in insult
an act or expression showing scorn and usually intended to hurt another's feelings
the brickbats were flying the night that those two bitchy divas were seated at the same table
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Recent Examples of brickbat
India has faced brickbats for not testing enough despite the emphasis laid by the World Health Organisation.
—
Niharika Sharma, Quartz India, 22 Mar. 2020
His popularity has survived brickbats and thrived despite personal woes.
—Matthew Daly, Anchorage Daily News, 5 Feb. 2020
Mr Johnson is hyper-sensitive to the brickbats of the liberal elite into which he was born, and sulked after the referendum when his neighbours in Islington turned against him.
—Boris Johnson, The Economist, 4 July 2019
The task has made him a target of brickbats from some elements of the Republican party, including President Trump, who see the Mueller investigation as tainted by political bias.
—Sadie Gurman, WSJ, 19 Oct. 2018
Lenny, who was accustomed to brickbats, picked himself up and kept his conducting dates, but Jamie believes that Felicia, suffering from public humiliation, was never the same.
—David Denby, The New Yorker, 16 June 2018
Years of critical brickbats toughened Albee’s already tough hide and taught him to trust only himself.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2018
Niharika Sharma, Quartz India, 22 Mar. 2020
His popularity has survived brickbats and thrived despite personal woes.
—Matthew Daly, Anchorage Daily News, 5 Feb. 2020
Mr Johnson is hyper-sensitive to the brickbats of the liberal elite into which he was born, and sulked after the referendum when his neighbours in Islington turned against him.
—Boris Johnson, The Economist, 4 July 2019
The task has made him a target of brickbats from some elements of the Republican party, including President Trump, who see the Mueller investigation as tainted by political bias.
—Sadie Gurman, WSJ, 19 Oct. 2018
Lenny, who was accustomed to brickbats, picked himself up and kept his conducting dates, but Jamie believes that Felicia, suffering from public humiliation, was never the same.
—David Denby, The New Yorker, 16 June 2018
Years of critical brickbats toughened Albee’s already tough hide and taught him to trust only himself.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brickbat
Noun
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The Special Olympics has been fighting against the discriminatory use of the word since the term’s early days as an insult.—
Kate Reilly,
NBC news,
30 Oct. 2025
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The race has been no short of dogged, as insults between the candidates on the debate stage have led to archives investigations and defamation lawsuit threats.—
Molly Parks,
The Washington Examiner,
30 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Cleveland says narcissists often disguise sarcasm as humor, slipping in cutting remarks about your intelligence, competence, or appearance but framing them as playful.—
Angela Haupt,
Time,
30 Oct. 2025
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While the track leans toward sarcasm, the soon-to-be-anthem perfectly captures a generational sentiment.—
Jessica Roiz,
Billboard,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Huda issues an apology after downplaying the incident After initially downplaying the outrage over her reaction, Mustafa posted another statement on Wednesday publicly apologizing to Carthen.—
Taylor Ardrey,
USA Today,
31 Oct. 2025
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If KitKat, the beloved feline hit on Monday, had been struck by a human driver, the outrage would’ve been relatively tempered.—
Reed Albergotti,
semafor.com,
31 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Brickbat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brickbat. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.
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