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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for billingsgate
Noun
  • The incident became public after the Department of Homeland Security released a copy of her 2021 restraining order petition citing multiple incidents of abuse.
    Erin Mansfield, USA Today, 7 June 2025
  • At the top Plus Extended tier, Bitdefender watches for abuse of your SSN, reports unauthorized change of address events, and scans court records.
    PC Magazine, PC Magazine, 7 June 2025
Noun
  • The president and the governor are having a momentous fight about constitutional rights in the courts, and flaming each other with insults and photoshopped memes on Truth Social and X. The ICE raids have thrown some Angelenos into a state of fear and virtual hiding.
    Julia Wick, Los Angeles Times, 14 June 2025
  • The two men had a very public falling out in early June, which unfolded in a series of insults and allegations on social media.
    Rachel Raposas, People.com, 11 June 2025
Noun
  • Mike the promoter and his right-hand man, Shorty, a person with dwarfism who comes in for page after page of ableist invective.
    Lauren Elkin, New York Times, 20 May 2025
  • Oilers fans booed the American national anthem, and one woman used a lull to shout an invective about Mr. Trump.
    John Branch, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2025
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
  • When the new Tesla Model 3 came out at the end of 2023 (which the company claims isn’t called Highland despite everyone else calling it that), its lack of an indicator stalk (like the Model S Plaid) garnered criticism.
    James Morris, Forbes.com, 14 June 2025
  • The decision comes after months of criticism for punishing a woman fencer who refused to fence a trans opponent, which included scrutiny from federal lawmakers at a congressional hearing in early May.
    Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 13 June 2025
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 19 Jun. 2025.

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