as in abusive
marked by harsh insulting language
braced himself for another vitriolic dressing-down by his perennially displeased father
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vitriolic
Adjective
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Samuel Dunham, 12, said he was adopted from an abusive family.—
Jade Jackson,
IndyStar,
11 July 2025 -
The administration has cited a need to counter China’s abusive trade practices, but this is undermined by the 25 percent tariff on Japanese goods.—
The Editors,
National Review,
10 July 2025
Adjective
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Stuck a feather in his cap and called it macaroni is insulting because a macaroni was a pejorative term used to describe a fashionable man with feminine traits of 18th-century Britain.—
Kurt Snibbe,
Oc Register,
2 July 2025
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Conversations revealed an ongoing dialogue that was not only deeply insulting to Read, but morally offensive to women broadly.—
Gemma Allen,
Forbes.com,
25 June 2025
Adjective
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The film series' latest installment — Madea's Destination Wedding — premiered on Netflix on July 11 and has proven to be one of the franchise's most outrageous chapters yet.—
Emily Blackwood,
People.com,
14 July 2025
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Insult to injury, large change orders provided again without explanation to a firm with direct political connection to the city administration — outrageous!—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
13 July 2025
Adjective
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On Wednesday, the President faced a barrage of ominous developments that might have fazed another leader—a worrisome jobs report, losses in federal court related to four of his signature policies, an increasingly vituperative public breakup with Elon Musk.—
Susan B. Glasser,
New Yorker,
5 June 2025
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Even before Trump took office, many scientists were reluctant to engage with the topic, for fear of being drawn into what has been a very public and vituperative debate.—
Daniel Engber,
The Atlantic,
20 May 2025
Adjective
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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
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Between the time the former Marine Soto was indicted in 2018 and sentenced in 2020, then-President Donald Trump offered up vitriolic invective to Mexican officials.—
Sean Campbell,
The Conversation,
23 May 2025
Adjective
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The use of obscene or profane language, personal attack, libel, slander, defamation, physical violence or the threat thereof, as determined by the presiding officer, shall constitute a disturbing a lawful meeting.—
Sharon Coolidge,
The Enquirer,
3 July 2025
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Meanwhile, the Astors, who had amassed a nearly obscene amount of real estate in New York City, became the country’s first multimillionaires by smuggling opium.—
AFAR Media,
AFAR Media,
3 July 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Vitriolic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vitriolic. Accessed 22 Jul. 2025.
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