to hit out at
1
6.7
- phrasal verb
- UK
:
atacar
- He does feel as though the system that gave him his success is slipping away, so he hits out at the people he blames.
Examples
-
Spending five ice age winter months in the cave drives the usual alpha male warrior nuts with cabin fever, and he'll hit out at any convenient target.
Blog text (12) -
Lord Marland, an energy minister, hit out at the cost of so-called feed-in tariffs, which the government has axed as part of the cuts program.
Blog text (25) -
Chinese state media have hit out at US "trouble-making" on the South China Sea, two days after Beijing summoned a US diplomat on the issue.
Blog text (19) -
Speaking just days before a crucial round of talks with Iran over its nuclear program, Romney hit out at the White House for a perceived weakness.
Blog text (28) -
However, Lord Turnbull hit out at what he said were the "weaknesses of these systems" at the FSA, saying, "Does it make sense to lend this amount of money to this small number of individuals... you would have smelt a rat?"
Blog text (11) -
Fidel has also hit out at the "imperialist yellow press" for deceiving readers following the incident, but stated that people were becoming more distrustful of mainstream media reporting.
Blog text (11) -
She hit out at Mr. Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's handling of the crisis and security at the consulate, telling the paper: 'They're on the top.'
Blog text (2) -
It comes a day after she hit out at Barack Obama for describing the attack as 'not optimal,' saying: 'My son is not very optimal—he is also very dead.'
Blog text (2) -
The politician hit out at his opponents during the debate, accusing them of spreading falsehoods.
-
After the scandal broke, the celebrity hit out at the media for their unfair treatment and invasion of privacy.
Synonyms
597
3.4
To strongly criticize someone or something in public
115
6.8
Publicly criticize someone or something strongly
71
5.6
Suddenly say angry things about someone by speaking or writing
68
4.6
Publicly criticize a person or group for bad actions
61
5.3
To strongly criticize someone in public
49
4.6
To criticize someone strongly and unfairly in public
44
4.1
Publicly say you are strongly against something or someone
31
7.7
To say in public that something is bad or wrong
29
5.8
To attack someone strongly in speech or writing
23
8.2
To say angry, insulting things about someone or something
15
7.3
To severely criticize someone or something
15
7.6
To speak badly about someone behind their backs
12
8.2
To criticize someone very strongly and angrily
9
9.8
To criticize someone or something very harshly in public
9
7.0
To say your opinion or complain loudly and openly
7
7.9
To speak badly about someone in public to hurt their reputation
4
8.1
To make quick, unfair critical remarks about someone or their ideas
4
7.4
To attack someone with strong angry words
3
9.5
Say bad things about someone in public to show others what they did
3
8.8
To scold someone strongly for something they did wrong
3
7.2
Use angry words to criticize someone strongly
2
9.9
To speak or write strongly against something
1
8.0
To criticize someone or something very strongly in public
1
5.8
Tell someone publicly that they did something wrong
1
9.9
Angrily criticize someone or something
1
7.5
To speak angrily and strongly to criticize someone
1
6.8
Tell someone angrily that they did something wrong
Attack someone with strong words in public
To say bad things about someone in public to make them feel ashamed
To criticize someone angrily using harsh words
To tell someone angrily that you do not like what they did
To speak angrily to someone and criticize them
Tell someone angrily that you are unhappy with them
Antonyms
How Critical
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal parts ('hit' = strike, 'out' = outward, 'at' = target) create a clear physical-attack metaphor that can lead learners to infer an attack directed at someone; this makes the connection to verbal criticism partially predictable. However, the specific sense 'criticize strongly and publicly' (including intensity and publicness) depends on metaphorical extension and the phrasal pattern, so a B1 learner who only knows the constituents may not fully derive the exact pragmatic meaning without prior exposure.
Etymology
The phrasal verb hit out at comes from the image of someone making a strong outward strike, with hit meaning 'strike' and out meaning 'away'. So when people 'hit out at' someone with words, they are using speech like a strong blow, which is why it means 'to criticize someone or something strongly and publicly'.