vituperative
Other forms: vituperatively
Use the adjective vituperative to describe criticism that's so sharp it hurts. A vituperative review of a movie would make the director bitter for months.
To correctly pronounce vituperative, remember that the first vowel sound is the long i sound, and the second syllable is accented: "vie-TOO-per-uh-tive." Being vituperative takes criticism to the next level. Vituperative criticism is harsh, scathing, even abusive. If a review or assessment is vituperative, it doesn't say "try harder next time." Instead it gives the sense of "go away and never come back."
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marked by harshly abusive criticism
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Vocabulary lists containing vituperative
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