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
Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 12 June 2025
After nights of clashes, then-President Donald Trump, known for issuing directives and invectives through social media, fired off a series of posts shortly before 1 a.m. on Friday, May 29, 2020.
—Chelsea Bailey, CNN Money, 24 May 2025
Clyde Wayne Crews Jr, Forbes.com, 12 May 2025
In the same year, Disney’s ESPN had to contend with host Pat McAfee, a rambunctious host, hurling invective at a former senior executive, Norby Williamson, who the host alleged had tried to sabotage his program.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 28 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for invective
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
After nights of clashes, then-President Donald Trump, known for issuing directives and invectives through social media, fired off a series of posts shortly before 1 a.m. on Friday, May 29, 2020.
—Chelsea Bailey, CNN Money, 24 May 2025
Adjective
So despite invective aimed at Trump and DOGE, limiting executive power is hardly what progressives want.
—Clyde Wayne Crews Jr, Forbes.com, 12 May 2025
In the same year, Disney’s ESPN had to contend with host Pat McAfee, a rambunctious host, hurling invective at a former senior executive, Norby Williamson, who the host alleged had tried to sabotage his program.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 28 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for invective
Recent Examples of Synonyms for invective
Noun
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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
Adjective
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The fourth episode depicts him as a negligent and emotionally abusive lover to Satan, further connecting him to the show’s previous portrayals of Saddam Hussein.—
Nick Marx,
The Conversation,
11 Sep. 2025
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This all in spite of Johanne’s best efforts to present Johanna in the most radiant of lights, a fact Johanna deems as abusive more than flattering.—
Harrison Richlin,
IndieWire,
11 Sep. 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
-
Using those who serve in uniform as political props is insulting.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
13 Sep. 2025
-
The whole thing feels redundant and borderline insulting.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
10 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
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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
Adjective
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The lack of answers and accountability is outrageous, said Adjua Broadbelt, her niece.—
Amanda Rosa,
Miami Herald,
10 Sep. 2025
-
The publication calls it a white-knuckle favorite standing more than 200 feet high and featuring outrageous maneuvers.—
Chad Murphy,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
10 Sep. 2025
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
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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
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 18 Sep. 2025.
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