vituperative

/vɪˈt͡ʃuːpɹətɪv/

//vɪˈt͡ʃuːpɹətɪv// adj

"vituperative" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“vituperative” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Marked by harsh abuse; abusive, often with ranting or railing.

Corpus desk

Index EN-vituperative · vituperative · English

vituperative · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "V" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for vituperative
PropertyValue
Headwordvituperative
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/vɪˈt͡ʃuːpɹətɪv/
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “vituperative” in English

vituperativesits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

vituperative is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /vɪˈt͡ʃuːpɹətɪv/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Marked by harsh abuse; abusive, often with ranting or railing.".

No misspelling variants are generated for vituperative in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: Formed from vituperātus, perfect passive participle of Latin vituperō (“to blame, to censure”) + -ive; by surface analysis, vituperate + -ive. The correct English form is vituperative, spelled V-I-T-U-P-E-R-A-T-I-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Marked by harsh abuse; abusive, often with ranting or railing.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how vituperative appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Floris gave the play a vituperative review laced with frequent personal insults.
  2. […] ten times in a day calling the child of his prayers TRISTRAM!—Melancholy dissyllable of sound! which, to his ears, was unison to Nincompoop, and every name vituperative under heaven.

Etymology

Formed from vituperātus, perfect passive participle of Latin vituperō (“to blame, to censure”) + -ive; by surface analysis, vituperate + -ive.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "vituperative"?
"vituperative" is spelled V-I-T-U-P-E-R-A-T-I-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is /vɪˈt͡ʃuːpɹətɪv/.
What does "vituperative" mean?
As an adjective, "vituperative" means: Marked by harsh abuse; abusive, often with ranting or railing.
How do you pronounce "vituperative"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "vituperative" is /vɪˈt͡ʃuːpɹətɪv/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "vituperative"?
Formed from vituperātus, perfect passive participle of Latin vituperō (“to blame, to censure”) + -ive; by surface analysis, vituperate + -ive. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list