scathing

adjective
UK: /ˈskeɪ.ðɪŋ/
US: /ˈskeɪ.ðɪŋ/

  1. Very critical, severe, and unkind.

    1. She gave a scathing review of the play.
    2. The senator delivered a scathing attack on the government's policies regarding education.

Synonyms

caustic acerbic cutting severe fierce devastating sarcastic harsh bitter
scathing adverb

  1. In a way that is very critical and severe.

    1. He spoke scathingly about her performance.
    2. She scathingly dismissed his suggestion, leaving him feeling humiliated and angry.

Frequently Asked Questions

The phonetic transcription of "scathing" is /ˈskeɪ.ðɪŋ/ in British English and /ˈskeɪ.ðɪŋ/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Synonyms for "scathing": caustic, acerbic, cutting, severe, fierce, devastating, sarcastic, harsh, bitter.

Example usage of "scathing": "She gave a scathing review of the play.". More examples on the page.