vituperate

UK/vɪˈtjuːpəɹeɪt/US/vəˈt(j)upəˌɹeɪt/

verbC2Very rare — outside the 30,000 commonest English words, so you will meet it in writing rather than in speechToo rare in one of the two pools to compare — fewer than 20 uses in speech or in writing

To vituperate is to attack somebody with abusive language. Vituperate an opponent.

The adjective vituperative is far commoner, usually describing a letter or a review. To vituperate adds nothing to an argument and is enormously satisfying to do.

Definitions of vituperate

1verbvituperateTo attack somebody with abusive language.C2
“He vituperated for two pages and made no point at all.”

vituperate is an action.

Where it comes from

Latin vituperare, to blame, from vitium, a fault, plus parare, to prepare.

Proto-Indo-European
*per-
Proto-Indo-European
*dwi- — apart; wrong
Latin
vituperātus — censured; disparaged
English, today
vituperate

Built from

vituperō · Latin — to blame, scold, tell off; to censure; to disparage, find fault with
vitium · Latin — blemish, defect, flaw, imperfection; crime, misdeed, wrongdoing; fault, error, sin; vice; disease (of plants)
*dwóh₁ · Proto-Indo-European — two
parō · Latin — to acquire, get, obtain, procure; to arrange, order; to contrive, design; to furnish, provide; to produce; to decide, resolve

Latin vituperātus (“censured; disparaged”), perfect passive participle of vituperō (“to blame, scold, tell off; to censure; to disparage, find fault with”) (see -ate), from vitium (“blemish, defect, flaw, imperfection; crime, misdeed, wrongdoing; fault, error, sin; vice; disease (of plants)”) (possibly from Proto-Indo-European dwi- (“apart; wrong”), from dwóh₁ (“two”)) + parō (“to acquire, get, obtain, procure; to arrange, order; to contrive, design; to furnish, provide; to produce; to decide, resolve”) (from Proto-Indo-European per- (“to get, procure; to produce; to bring forward; to bring forth, carry forth; to go through”)).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

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