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
  • Places like Valor Station exist for first-responders who are struggling with severe depression, anxiety, PTSD and substance abuse.
    — Katja Ridderbusch, NPR, 26 May 2025
  • The Department of Government Oversight and Efficiency has uncovered waste, fraud and abuse that is troubling, but not unexpected.
    — Rita Numerof, Forbes.com, 26 May 2025
Definition of abuse
Noun
  • They were quickly showered with boos and insults, along with various food items and beverages, including my mother’s large Pepsi.
    — Leonard Greene, New York Daily News, 17 May 2025
  • The statue was widely reviled by locals, who saw its abstract look as ugly and an insult to the first lady.
    — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 16 May 2025
Definition of insult
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
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
  • Also rejected was a proposal soliciting a report on warehouse working conditions, a perennial source of criticism of the company.
    — Greg Bensinger, USA Today, 22 May 2025
  • The previous reports that the Department of Justice was investigating UnitedHealth for Medicare fraud brought criticism of the company, with its stock falling by 17% last Thursday.
    — Morgan Kromer, The Washington Examiner, 21 May 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 4 Jun. 2025.

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