What does vituperable mean?
Vituperable is a formal adjective meaning deserving of severe criticism, blame, or verbal abuse. It is typically used when something is not merely mistaken or unpopular but considered morally objectionable, grossly unfair, or contemptible. A speaker might call a decision vituperable after showing that it unfairly harmed a group; a writer might describe an attack on an opponent’s reputation in the same way. The word is more forceful than blameworthy and more ceremonially censorious than objectionable, so it belongs chiefly to formal argument, criticism, and literary prose. Though uncommon in everyday conversation, it remains useful because it identifies a particularly strong level of condemnation. Its vocabulary relatives—vituperate, vituperation, and vituperative—preserve the same idea of pronounced or elaborate blame.
adjectiveDeserving of harsh criticism or abuse; blameworthy.
- Deserving of strong criticism, blame, or verbal abuse.
"The editor condemned the decision as not merely mistaken but vituperable."
"The committee described the witness’s treatment of the applicants as vituperable."
"His vituperable attack on an absent colleague cost him the trust of the editorial board."
So blameworthy that an objector may not merely object, but attack.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of vituperable
Vituperable entered English in the early 17th century, drawn from French vitupérable and ultimately from Latin. Its immediate Latin source, vituperabilis, means “liable to censure” and is derived from vituperari, “to blame or censure.” Its English relatives include vituperate, vituperation, and vituperative.
Related word forms
How vituperable is actually used
Formal and literary rather than everyday. It is more emphatic than blameworthy and commonly describes conduct, decisions, statements, or attacks regarded as exceptionally deserving of censure.
Easily confused with vituperable
Vituperable means deserving of blame, whereas vituperative describes language or criticism that is harshly abusive.