Adjacent Words

Invective definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

INVEC'TIVE, n. [L. inveho. See Inveigh.] A railing speech or expression; something uttered or written, intended to cast opprobrium, censure or reproach on another; a harsh or reproachful accusation. It differs from reproof, as the latter may come from a friend and be intended to the good of the person reproved; but invective proceeds from an enemy, and is intended to give pain or to injure.
INVEC'TIVE, a. Satirical; abusive; railing.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: abusive or venomous language used to express blame or censure or bitter deep-seated ill will [syn: vituperation, invective, vitriol]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English invectif, from Middle French, from Latin invectivus, from invectus, past participle of invehere Date: 15th century of, relating to, or characterized by insult or abuse • invectively adverb • invectiveness noun II. noun Date: 1523 1. an abusive expression or speech 2. insulting or abusive language ; vituperation Synonyms: see abuse

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a strongly attacking words. b the use of these. 2 abusive rhetoric. Etymology: ME f. OF f. LL invectivus attacking (as INVEIGH)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Invective In*vec"tive, a. [L. invectivus: cf. F. invectif. See Inveigh.] Characterized by invection; critical; denunciatory; satirical; abusive; railing.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Invective In*vec"tive, n. [F. invective.] An expression which inveighs or rails against a person; a severe or violent censure or reproach; something uttered or written, intended to cast opprobrium, censure, or reproach on another; a harsh or reproachful accusation; -- followed by against, having reference to the person or thing affected; as an invective against tyranny. The world will be able to judge of his [Junius'] motives for writing such famous invectives. --Sir W. Draper. Syn: Abuse; censure; reproach; satire; sarcasm; railing; diatribe. See Abuse.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Invective is rude and unpleasant things that people shout at people they hate or are angry with. (FORMAL) A woman had hurled racist invective at the family... N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Abuse, contumely, reproach, censure, railing, vituperation, sarcastic attack, rhetorical assault. 2. Satire, sarcasm, pasquinade, philippic, diatribe, fling. II. a. 1. Abusive, reproachful, censorious, captious, railing, scolding. 2. Satirical, sarcastic, assailing.

Moby Thesaurus

abuse, abusive, address, after-dinner speech, allocution, assailing, assault, attack, berating, billingsgate, bitter words, blackening, blameful, calumny, causticity, censorious, chalk talk, condemnatory, contemptuous, contumelious, contumely, cynicism, damnatory, debate, declamation, denunciatory, deprecative, deprecatory, depreciative, derisive, diatribe, disparaging, eulogy, execrating, execration, execrative, execratory, exhortation, filibuster, forensic, forensic address, formal speech, funeral oration, harangue, hard words, hortatory address, inaugural, inaugural address, innuendo, inveighing, irony, jawing, jeremiad, judgmental, objurgatory, obloquy, onslaught, opprobrious, opprobrium, oration, pep talk, peroration, philippic, pitch, prepared speech, prepared text, priggish, public speech, rating, reading, recital, recitation, reproachful, reprobative, revilement, reviling, ridiculing, sales talk, salutatory, salutatory address, sarcasm, satire, satiric wit, say, scoffing, screed, scurrile, scurrility, scurrilous, set speech, speech, speechification, speeching, talk, talkathon, tirade, tongue-lashing, truculent, valediction, valedictory, valedictory address, vilification, vilifying, vituperation, vituperative