Invective

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɪnˈvÉ›ktɪv/
• Rhymes: -ɪv

Origin

From Middle French invective, from Medieval Latin invectiva ("abusive speech"), from Latin invectīvus, from invectus, perfect passive participle of invehō ("bring in"), from in + vehō ("carry"). See vehicle, and compare with inveigh.

Full definition of invective

Noun

1. An expression which inveighs or rails against a person.
2. A severe or violent censure or reproach.
3. Something spoken or written, intended to cast opprobrium, censure, or reproach on another.
• 14 September 2013, Jane Shilling, The Golden Thread: the Story of Writing, by Ewan Clayton, review [print edition: Illuminating language], A savage passage of 14th-century invective about the text-obsessed nerdiness of the Florentine bibliophile and friend of Petrarch, Niccolò Niccoli ...
4. A harsh or reproachful accusation.Politics can raise invective to a low art.

Adjective

1. Characterized by invection or railing.Tom's speeches became diatribes — each more invective than the last.

Synonyms

• (characterized by invection or railing) abusive, critical, denunciatory, satirical, vitriolic, vituperative