vitriol

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   cruel and bitter criticism; savagely hostile or abusive language

   The review was pure vitriol, attacking the author rather than the book.

2. 2
   noun

   sulfuric acid, or any of various metal sulfate salts (as in blue vitriol, copper sulfate)

   In older chemistry texts, oil of vitriol meant concentrated sulfuric acid.

3. 3
   verb

   to attack with bitter, abusive language

   Commentators vitrioled the referee for hours after the match.

From Middle English vitriol, from Old French vitriol, from Medieval Latin vitriolum ("sulfuric acid; sulfate"), from Latin vitrum ("glass") — so named for the glassy lustre of sulfate crystals. The figurative sense, caustic and abusive speech, extends the corrosive acid by metaphor.

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