Definition

Vitriolic refers to a speech, written work, or attitude that is filled with criticism, anger, or malice. It is characterized by bitter and cutting language.

Pronunciation

US English

UK English


See Synonyms, Antonyms and Usage

Excerpts from News Articles

1

While Americans may cringe or fume, the first instalment of the Trump Show, which saw him indicted on 34 charges of fraud, left international audiences open-mouthed. Some laughed, some sneered, some calculated. Once again, the US has proved its exceptionalism, but not in a good way. Amid the vitriol and hoopla, friends and foes are asking questions.

Logo 2023-04-09 The Guardian

2

What’s going on? Trump’s high-decibel howls of anger and grievance and his vitriolic charges of a “deep state” aligned against him are rallying Republicans to his side.

Logo 2023-04-11 The Guardian

3

The ideas gain power from the way in which Murray-Smith contrasts Gillard’s controlled workday exterior with the her night-time flights of fancy – dreaming that radio shock jocks and puerile Young Liberals will cast aside their toxic vitriol .

Logo 2023-04-06 The Conversation

4

Despite the talk, few concrete results were expected from the session, which is primarily expected to flesh out ideas — and possibly some vitriol — from lawmakers who all face reelection this fall.

Logo 2023-04-11 Associated Press

5

"One of the reasons people are staying on, myself included, is that this isn't the first time bad things have happened to people on Twitter," McGregor said, noting how Twitter can be a place where harassment, trolling and direct messages being flooded with vitriol is not uncommon.

Logo 2023-04-12 NPR

6

Some of the conversation and vitriol that we’re hearing, we heard before January 6th. It’s very dangerous language. So before January 6th, people would say, “Oh, this would never happen in the greatest democracy on Earth.”

Logo 2023-04-07 Politico

7

While backing wholeheartedly the war on Ukraine, Tatarsky was, like other ultranationalists, increasingly vitriolic about the poor tactics of Russia’s generals, labeling them “idiots” and backing Prigozhin in the war of words between the Wagner boss and the country’s defense chiefs.

Logo 2023-04-06 Politico

8

The indictment, which has not been publicly revealed but will reportedly include about 30 counts related to document fraud, marks the first-ever criminal charges against a former president. Trump has repeatedly decried District Attorney Alvin Bragg's probe as a "witch hunt," and has attacked the DA himself in vitriolic terms.

Logo 2023-04-03 CNBC

9

The result was a bitterly adversarial hearing that unfolded in a carnival-like atmosphere, drawing angry protesters from the left and the right who hoisted signs and hurled invective that was only slightly more vitriolic than the debate between Democratic and Republican lawmakers.

Logo 2023-04-17 The New York Times

10

Nonetheless, the teaching of accomplishments, histories, demographics, culture and more of Latino, Black, Asian and Native Americans and others has become a magnet for political vitriol and a conservative clampdown.

Logo 2023-04-18 MSNBC News

11

“Not appreciating that he was playing with the big boys”, Galeotti suggested the “thuggish ex-con” may have gone too far "throwing his weight around" and "pouring vitriol " on Russia's power brokers.

Logo 2023-04-18 EURO News

12

“My feelings are still hurt over the way Megan Thee Stallion was treated. My feelings are still hurt over how Meghan Markle was treated. In this climate where the vitriol against Black woman never seems to cease, it’s lovely to see a Black man fall head over heels in love with us on TV,” said Williams.

Logo 2023-04-14 The Washington Post

13

The latest vitriolic exchange reflects the long-running policy animosity between the two, particularly Keating’s hostility to Wong over the issue of China.

Logo 2023-04-17 The Conversation

14

When Opposition leader Peter Dutton said the Liberal Party would say ‘No’ to the Voice, the floodgates of childish vitriolic attacks opened, and the insults came gushing through.

Logo 2023-04-17 The Spectator

15

It’s the classic mix for toxic masculinity, and Brian identifies it as the cause of conservative vitriol directed toward Mulvaney and Bud Light.

Logo 2023-04-21 The Washington Post

16

“They didn’t do a really great job last time around,” Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said of the Club. “Their folks were underperformers and I just think people are tired of the anger and the vitriol and actually want to see people get along and get some things done.”

Logo 2023-04-18 Politico

17

Firstly, he has made the right decision in appointing Jacinta Nampijinpa Price as Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs. She is already the Coalition’s most authentic, credible, capable, principled, and high-profile spokesperson in this area. But she cannot be left to carry the case and wear the vitriolic criticism on her own. She must be confident of, and get, the full support of Dutton and Littleproud and, to the maximum extent possible, the Coalition parties and their supporters.

Logo 2023-04-18 The Spectator

18

Minniefield didn’t want to stop serving Bud Light. To stem the vitriol , he made a Facebook post.

Logo 2023-04-22 The Washington Post

19

Some of the most heated vitriol was reserved for colleagues in the news division and included conversations with fellow on-air personalities Laura Ingraham and Sean Hannity.

Logo 2023-04-24 Associated Press

20

His rambling, vitriolic post reiterated his core denials: “I don’t know this woman, have no idea who she is ... She completely made up a story...” He added, among other insults: “This woman is not my type!”

Logo 2023-04-24 MSNBC News

21

Angelo Carusone, president of Media Matters for America, a left-leaning media watchdog, predicted that other hosts would pick up Carlson’s vitriol .

Logo 2023-04-24 The Guardian

22

Rosen reserves special vitriol for hostile Scalia biographies, especially Joan Biskupic’s 2009 “American Original.” Many conservative readers have critiqued Biskupic’s portrayal of Scalia’s jurisprudence as so much liberal hackery, and Rosen has a particular ax to grind with what he calls her “careerist-authoritarian narrative.

Logo 2023-04-26 The Washington Post

23

He lives, as far as anyone knows, the life of a good family man, with no affairs with porn stars or Playboy Playmates that need covering up. He’s not getting indicted for anything. He hasn’t given a vitriolic speech to a crowd that’s gone on to bust into the U.S. Capitol or any other government building while he watches from the sidelines doing nothing to stop it.

Logo 2023-04-26 Politico

24

This means acknowledging the fact that the internet is rooted in structures and systems of power, such as patriarchy, racism, colonialism, authoritarianism, ethno-religious nationalism, and business models based on neoliberal capitalism. All of which converge to result in the hate and vitriol that is peddled against women on the internet.

Logo 2023-04-27 CNN News

25

The texts aren't just filled with racist and sexist vitriol , they also seem to suggest possible civil rights violations.

Logo 2023-04-27 NPR

26

After turning up at this year’s Grammys, Madonna was subjected to a vitriolic online attack over her appearance, particularly what was deemed her excessive use of plastic surgery.

Logo 2023-04-28 The Conversation

27

Speakers and participants come across, pretty universally, as agreeing that China is a capitalist economy. But in saying this there wasn’t vitriol directed towards China in the same way that spite is directed toward United States capitalism. Almost no anger was directed at China.

Logo 2023-04-29 The Spectator

28

“The AR-15 and its variants are very deadly when used properly,” he wrote in a manifesto filled with hateful vitriol . “Which is the reason I picked one.”

Logo 2023-04-29 The Washington Post

29

Beyond the pricing, MTA officials offered other reasons for leaving Twitter, including the added vitriol and the move away from a chronological timeline.

Logo 2023-04-29 Associated Press

30

None of Thelwell’s direct actions met with the vitriol that egging the king did. He thought he was going to be lynched by the crowd: “They lost their minds.

Logo 2023-04-29 The Guardian

31

“Let me tell you something: I know that there are transgender people out there. That is not a transgender person,” Haley said of Mulvaney as the crowd nodded. Mulvaney addressed the vitriol in a recent TikTok video, saying she has been struggling with “the need to dehumanize and to be cruel.”

Logo 2023-04-30 CNN News