Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

scathing

/ˈskeɪðɪŋ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.97 in modern English

Syllables: scathing
IPA: /ˈskeɪðɪŋ/

14

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

2

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

present participle and gerund of scathe

adj

Harshly or bitterly critical; vitriolic.

adj

Harmful or painful; acerbic.

Example Sentences

"For months, Dati warned she would refuse to stand aside. Now she has stunned the political class with an open letter to Fillon in Le Monde, a scathing character assassination accusing him of the "lone ambition" of a disillusioned political elite, of doing politics in a way that "never favoured women" and stopping ethnic-minority candidates from progressing at elections. She said he was committing "a sad mistake" in trying to run in Paris."

Inflected Forms

more scathing (comparative) most scathing (superlative)

Derived Forms

scathingly scathingness

Synonyms

searing vituperative

Rhymes With

bathing

Questions

How do you pronounce scathing?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈskeɪðɪŋ/.
What does scathing mean?: present participle and gerund of scathe

How to pronounce scathing

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “scathing”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈskeɪðɪŋ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “scathing”.
Repeat and practice — Say “scathing” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.