Meaning & use

revile

verb·Advanced

To criticize or insult someone in an abusive, contemptuous, or scornful way.

See it in a sentence

The dictator was reviled by historians for the suffering his policies caused.

Fans reviled the referee's decision, booing loudly from every corner of the stadium.

A note on using this word

Revile is stronger than 'criticize' and is almost always used in the passive, as in 'be reviled for something'.

Words with a similar meaning

denouncevilify

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

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