Meaning & use
revile
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Meanings
verbtransitiveformalliterary
To attack someone with harsh, scornful words or hold them in deep contempt.
Grammar: It takes an object and is often passive: he was reviled by critics.
Patterns
- revile someone for something
- be reviled as something
Critics reviled the film for its crude humor.
The dictator was reviled by his own people.
She was reviled in the press for her remarks.
verbintransitiveliteraryold-fashioned
To speak abusively, hurling insults.
Grammar: Used alone or with against; it is old and literary: he reviled against the council.
Patterns
- revile against someone
The mob reviled against the judges.
He reviled at the injustice of his sentence.
Preachers once reviled openly against the king.
Word forms
| third person singular | reviles |
|---|---|
| past tense | reviled |
| past participle | reviled |
| -ing form | reviling |
Common combinations
- widely reviled
- The policy was widely reviled by voters.
- reviled as
- He was reviled as a traitor.
- reviled by
- The tax was reviled by merchants.
- revile someone for
- They reviled him for his betrayal.
- publicly reviled
- She was publicly reviled online.
Synonyms and how they differ
- vilify
- Vilify means to say false or damaging things about someone, while revile stresses abuse and contempt.
- denounce
- Denounce is a public, often formal condemnation, whereas revile suggests angry insults.
- despise
- Despise is a feeling of contempt, but revile is the act of expressing it in words.
- malign
- Malign means to speak harmful untruths about someone, which is narrower than revile.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: revile or revere?
revile vs revere
Revere means to respect deeply, the opposite of revile, and the two look similar.
Practice
The tyrant was ___ by most of the population but feared by the rest.
Choose one answer.
Reviled means hated and scorned, which suits a tyrant who is also feared. Revered means deeply respected, a tempting look-alike with the wrong meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “revile”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.