Synonym Chooser

How is the word obloquy distinct from other similar nouns?

Some common synonyms of obloquy are abuse, billingsgate, invective, and vituperation. While all these words mean "vehemently expressed condemnation or disapproval," obloquy suggests defamation and consequent shame and disgrace.

subjected to obloquy and derision

When would abuse be a good substitute for obloquy?

The synonyms abuse and obloquy 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 billingsgate take the place of obloquy?

While the synonyms billingsgate and obloquy are close in meaning, billingsgate implies practiced fluency and variety of profane or obscene abuse.

directed a stream of billingsgate at the cabdriver

Where would invective be a reasonable alternative to obloquy?

The words invective and obloquy are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, invective implies a comparable vehemence but suggests greater verbal and rhetorical skill and may apply to a public denunciation.

blistering political invective

When can vituperation be used instead of obloquy?

Although the words vituperation and obloquy have much in common, vituperation implies fluent and sustained abuse.

a torrent of vituperation

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 obloquy Future problems Paxton’s ability to brush aside opprobrium and obloquy in Texas politics is nearly unrivaled. Lauren McGaughy, Dallas News, 18 Sep. 2023 That’s a shame, because the airline’s 11 outside directors are arguably the guiltiest of the guilty parties in the company’s recent fiasco, the most deserving of obloquy. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 3 Jan. 2023 It’s the guy in front of the bench, though, who’s taking the brunt of the obloquy for the way that whole mess ended. Gordon Monson, The Salt Lake Tribune, 3 July 2021 This kind of bitter obloquy can be found in the editorial pages of many global publications. Annabelle Timsit, Quartz, 29 Apr. 2021 The only freedom and independence are in learning to be equally indifferent to both praise and obloquy. Kevin D. Williamson, National Review, 27 Aug. 2019 Years later, Adams wrote that his decision ‘procured me anxiety, and obloquy …. James Hohmann, Washington Post, 8 June 2018 The cross-dressing women were not often the target of obloquy or mockery. Longreads, 8 May 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for obloquy
Noun
  • This franchise was once labeled the Jail Blazers for an era in the early 2000s that included transgressions of marijuana use, dogfighting, domestic abuse, fighting and drag racing.
    Jason Quick, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
  • Separate Oklahoma court records reviewed by PEOPLE show that Rodriquez was charged in 2021 with child neglect and domestic abuse — assault and battery in the presence of a child.
    Christina Coulter, PEOPLE, 25 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • One small study published in 2018 in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry noted that phasmophobia can negatively impact sleep as well as social lives due to shame surrounding the fear.
    Hannah Yasharoff, USA Today, 30 Oct. 2025
  • My morning is completely derailed, which is a shame.
    Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 30 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • 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
  • 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
  • In the spring of 1940, as Hitler took Paris, defeated France, and allowed the British troops at Dunkirk to retreat from the continent in disgrace, two more countries initiated their own nuclear programs.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
  • Amid her disgrace, Baldwin somewhat retreated from social media and from constantly posting images of her seven children, which critics found exploitative.
    Martha Ross, Mercury News, 15 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
Noun
  • Pashinyan had led the movement to oust Moscow’s influence in Armenia; he was now saddled with the odium of losing Karabakh on his watch.
    Melik Kaylan, Forbes, 9 Oct. 2024
  • By making such statements with actual malice to the public and also through social media, each of the defendants knew or should have known that their comments would be widely disseminated, exposing Judge Moore to disgrace, ridicule, odium and contempt resulting in compensatory and punitive damages.
    Paul Gattis | pgattis@al.com, al, 29 Nov. 2022
Noun
  • The 21-year-old wildlife conservationist and son of famed zookeeper and television personality Steve Irwin further elaborated just why Russell's constructive criticism means so much.
    Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Oct. 2025
  • Chmerkovskiy then also remarked on the public's criticisms about his DWTS tenure.
    Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 31 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Adding further controversy to the case, in 2024, Pras’ lawyer David Kenner pleaded guilty to criminal contempt of court for leaking confidential grand jury materials to Bloomberg News.
    Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 3 Nov. 2025
  • While support for the president and contempt for the left has united conservative media for years, Gaza has been driving a wedge between two of the right’s biggest names.
    Max Tani, semafor.com, 27 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Obloquy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obloquy. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.

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