Vitriolating

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To attack or criticize someone in a bitter or harsh manner
2. to express extreme disdain or contempt through vitriolic language
3. to engage in behaviors or rhetoric marked by severe verbal abuse or hostility

Etymology: Vitriol began as a chemical name. Medieval alchemists and chemists used "vitriol" for a class of glassy, crystalline salts, and the most notorious of them, sulphuric acid, was called oil of vitriol because it was made by distilling those salts. The metaphor came later: a substance strong enough to corrode metal and skin came to stand for words that do the same kind of damage, so that "vitriolic" and then "vitriolate" took on the sense of cutting someone down with bitter, corrosive speech. "Vitriolating" is the present participle of "vitriolate", a verb formed by adding the suffix "-ate" to "vitriol". That suffix, which in chemistry marks salts and compounds, was extended to verbs meaning "to treat with" or "to make into" something, so "vitriolate" originally meant to treat a substance with vitriol. Applied to people, the chemical treatment became a figure of speech for savage, scorching criticism.

Synonyms: criticizing harshly, attacking verbally, vituperating, scolding, berating

Antonyms: praising, complimenting, lauding, applauding, encouraging