billingsgate

Synonym Chooser

How is the word billingsgate distinct from other similar nouns?

Some common synonyms of billingsgate are abuse, invective, obloquy, and vituperation. While all these words mean "vehemently expressed condemnation or disapproval," billingsgate implies practiced fluency and variety of profane or obscene abuse.

directed a stream of billingsgate at the cabdriver

When is abuse a more appropriate choice than billingsgate?

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

In some situations, the words invective and billingsgate are roughly equivalent. However, invective implies a comparable vehemence but suggests greater verbal and rhetorical skill and may apply to a public denunciation.

blistering political invective

When could obloquy be used to replace billingsgate?

The words obloquy and billingsgate are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, obloquy suggests defamation and consequent shame and disgrace.

subjected to obloquy and derision

Where would vituperation be a reasonable alternative to billingsgate?

While in some cases nearly identical to billingsgate, vituperation implies fluent and sustained abuse.

a torrent of vituperation

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for billingsgate
Noun
  • Endrick was also subjected to racist abuse on social media following Madrid’s 2-0 defeat by Liverpool last month.
    Guillermo Rai, The Athletic, 14 Dec. 2024
  • At the same time, the United States and Western allies have accused Xi of overseeing widespread human rights abuses, even claims of genocide, against the nation's Uyghurs through the use of mass internment camps, a charge the Chinese leader and his government have vehemently denied.
    Stephan Pechdimaldji, Newsweek, 14 Dec. 2024
Noun
  • High-profile individuals across different industries are generally more known and more easily recognizable through the internet and social media, and in turn bear the brunt of insults, attacks and sometimes threats.
    Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 7 Dec. 2024
  • The rapid-fire dialogue between Phil and Connie (played perfectly by McCarthy) is the main draw here, as their exchanges are laced with great insults and hilarious banter.
    Travis Bean, Forbes, 7 Dec. 2024
Noun
  • An official in the supreme leader’s office offered more fire-breathing invective.
    Daniel DePetris, Chicago Tribune, 5 Nov. 2024
  • The one who hurled invectives against the media and accused them of fake news was outed in his trial as a beneficiary of and creator of fake news for the National Enquirer.
    Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 4 May 2024
Noun
  • 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
  • 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
Noun
  • Some Israelis demand cease-fire deal, return of hostages Netanyahu faces mounting pressure and criticism from Israelis frustrated with the lack of a cease-fire deal to secure the release of the around 100 remaining hostages in Gaza as the war has raged for more than a year.
    Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA TODAY, 11 Dec. 2024
  • This requires you to put your ego aside and stay genuinely open to new ideas, concerns and even criticisms.
    Rhoan Morgan, Forbes, 10 Dec. 2024
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Billingsgate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/billingsgate. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

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