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
  • ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.
    — Cassandra Jaramillo, ProPublica, 12 July 2025
  • Many of these complications are meant to either limit the cost of tax breaks or to prevent anticipated abuses.
    — Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes.com, 12 July 2025
Definition of abuse
Noun
  • Adding insult, he was called for eight fouls in Tuesday night’s victory over the Golden State Warriors, with players allowed 10 in summer league, four above the regular-season maximum.
    — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 9 July 2025
  • Amid the mix of compliments and insults from obvious trolls, many thought ATB bore a striking resemblance to another member of the family.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 8 July 2025
Definition of insult
Noun
  • After nights of clashes, then-President Donald Trump, known for issuing directives and invectives through social media, fired off a series of posts shortly before 1 a.m. on Friday, May 29, 2020.
    — Chelsea Bailey, CNN Money, 24 May 2025
  • Douglas McCarthy, the vocalist who hectored anarchic invective with EBM innovators Nitzer Ebb and who joined Depeche Mode keyboardist Alan Wilder’s Recoil side project, died Wednesday at the age of 58.
    — Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 12 June 2025
Definition of invective
Noun
  • 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
  • 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
Definition of vituperation
Noun
  • The unusually blunt and sobering assessment drew sharp criticism, including from her colleagues.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 8 July 2025
  • Nearly a dozen law enforcement agencies statewide have signed partnership agreements with ICE, drawing criticisms from some residents.
    — Lucas Aulbach, The Courier-Journal, 8 July 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 18 Jul. 2025.

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