as in abuse
harsh insulting language
hurled curses and invective at the driver who heedlessly cut them off in traffic
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
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Recent Examples of invective
Dominic Patten, Deadline, 22 July 2025
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
PC Magazine, 8 Aug. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for invective
Noun
The actor also has been involved in occurrences of being verbal and physically aggressive, hurling racists invectives, as well as being out and out violent on a number of occasions.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 22 July 2025
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
Adjective
The researchers forced Gemini to delete messages, spew invective at the user, steal email messages, and even use Google Home to open windows.
—PC Magazine, 8 Aug. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for invective
Recent Examples of Synonyms for invective
Noun
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He was suspended to begin the 1995 season for cocaine and admitted to having a substance abuse problem.—
Ryan Morik,
FOXNews.com,
8 Nov. 2025
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The Belgian Catholic Church has been rocked by a series of devastating clerical abuse scandals in recent years, which Pope Francis confronted directly during a visit to Belgium last year, spending more than two hours with survivors.—
Christopher Lamb,
CNN Money,
8 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Or, like teenager Kashmira, to escape the sight of her abusive and absentee father’s genetics in the mirror every morning.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
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Though they were still subjected to abusive practices, tenants usually knew their landlords and saw them often, and rents were much more stable.—
Cassie Powell,
The Conversation,
3 Nov. 2025
Noun
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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
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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
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To educate all of them in similar ways is insulting, and silly.—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 Sep. 2025
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Perkins said the drink bore the insulting message.—
Victoria Moorwood,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
22 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Weston said stripping Andrew of the medal would be an insult to those who have served in the British armed forces.—
Meredith Kile,
PEOPLE,
5 Nov. 2025
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In popular discourse, the word has taken on a life of its own, as an insult deployed without clear reference to any theory of psychology.—
David Merritt Johns,
The Atlantic,
2 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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We were inspired by their outrageous VHS cover art that promised epic tales of heroic barbarians rescuing buxom babes from giant monsters.—
Bear McCreary,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Nov. 2025
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Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The Chinese retailer, known for its range of cheap ultra-fast-fashion clothing and criticisms of its labor and environmental practices, is nestled on the sixth floor of a more than century-old building in Paris, a city famous for high-end fashion and a recent green push.—
Miranda Jeyaretnam,
Time,
7 Nov. 2025
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Part of the reason why there are so few of these conversations about podcasting is a general lack of criticism for narrative audio.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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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
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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 10 Nov. 2025.
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