vitriol
vitriol Lexical Profile
vitriol Game Scores & Validity
• noun
Cruel, bitter, and scathing criticism or malice.
"The public debate quickly devolved into personal insults and sheer vitriol."
Sulfuric acid or any of various crystalline metallic sulfates (historical or archaic in chemistry).
"Early alchemists distilled green vitriol in clay retorts to produce concentrated acid."
• verb
To treat, coat, or dip in sulfuric acid or a metallic sulfate solution (especially in metallurgy).
"The workers had to vitriol the copper plates thoroughly to remove surface oxides before rolling."
To subject someone to scathing, bitter criticism or verbal abuse.
"Hostile commentators continued to vitriol the author in newspaper columns for months."
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the late 14th century from Old French vitriol, from Medieval Latin vitriolum, a noun use of the neuter adjective vitriolus ('of glass'), derived from Latin vitrum ('glass'), because the crystalline metallic sulfates resembled colored glass.