billingsgate

noun

ˈbi-liŋz-ˌgāt How to pronounce billingsgate (audio)
Definition of billingsgatenext
as in abuse
harsh insulting language the intemperate billingsgate to which the staff in customer service were sometimes subjected

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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
  1. abuse
  2. insult
  3. invective
  4. vituperation
  5. criticism
Noun
  • Brenda Deutsch, of Winfield, was arrested and charged with two counts of child abuse and one count of child endangerment, court documents show.
    — Mike Stunson, Kansas City Star, 8 Apr. 2025
  • The office processed more than 3,000 complaints in fiscal year 2023 — on everything from disabled detainees being unable to access medical care to abuses of power at Immigration and Customs Enforcement and reports of rape at its detention centers.
    — J. David McSwane, ProPublica, 8 Apr. 2025
Definition of abuse
Noun
  • Recent White House comments and insults directed at NATO allies – as well as the military alliance itself – have raised alarm and confusion.
    — Bradford Betz, FOXNews.com, 3 Apr. 2025
  • In a workplace that’s increasingly remote, fast-paced, independent and ever-changing, these aren’t insults.
    — Nirit Cohen, Forbes.com, 3 Apr. 2025
Definition of insult
Noun
  • Congress often seems incapable of doing anything other than hurl petty invectives across the aisle.
    — Ron Estes, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Mar. 2025
  • Such invective, coming from a saboteur with firsthand experience of institutional prudishness, put DeGenevieve in a paradoxical position: that of a professor who, because she was tenured, had the luxury of deriding her own ivory tower.
    — Jeremy Lybarger, Artforum, 1 Feb. 2025
Definition of invective
Noun
  • 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
  • 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
Definition of vituperation
Noun
  • The emotional stories linked with characters portrayed as cold-blooded killers trained by terrorists have left the film amid wide criticism over its intentions.
    — Sweta Kaushal, Forbes.com, 3 Apr. 2025
  • Many of the artists now topping the charts have come under fierce criticism because their lyrics often paint cartel leaders as Robin Hood-esque figures.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 3 Apr. 2025
Definition of criticism
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 16 Apr. 2025.

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