philippic
1
9.9
- noun
- /fɪˈlɪpɪk/
- She wrote a detailed philippic condemning the government's handling of the crisis.
Examples
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Of course, this is just that brute Cicero ("Attack on an Enemy of Freedom (The Second Philippic against Antony)," 44 BC).
Blog text (1) -
The politician's philippic against his opponent drew widespread attention due to its harsh criticism.
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His speech turned into a relentless philippic that left no doubt about his disapproval.
Synonyms
24
7.7
A long angry speech that criticizes someone or something
23
8.5
A long angry attack in words against someone or something
11
7.4
A public statement that strongly criticizes someone or something
4
8.2
A strong public attack in speech or writing that criticizes someone
1
7.7
A public statement that strongly criticizes someone or something
A very harsh and angry comment meant to hurt someone
Antonyms
How Critical
Surface Forms
Morphology
philippic = Philip (opaque) = Philip + ic
Formally derived from the proper name 'Philip' + '-ic', but the modern meaning 'bitter denunciation' refers to a historical series of speeches and is not inferable from the name.
Etymology
Philippic comes from the name Philip, because of famous angry speeches made 'against' King Philip of Macedon. So a philippic is a strong speech that attacks or strongly criticizes someone.