Definition

Verb: - To revile, to insult, to abuse (verbally): To speak to or about someone with offensive, scornful, or contemptuous language, intended to humiliate or offend. This action is deliberate and often public, aiming to damage the target's dignity or reputation.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Anh ta bị lăng mạ ngay giữa cuộc họp. (He was reviled right in the middle of the meeting.)
  • Không nên lăng mạ người khác chỉ vì bất đồng quan điểm. (One should not insult others just because of a difference in opinion.)
  • Những bình luận đó không phải là phê bình mà là lăng mạ. (Those comments are not criticism; they are verbal abuse.)

Advanced Usage

• "bị lăng mạ": to be insulted/reviled. This passive construction is very common.
  • Cô ấy cảm thấy tổn thương sâu sắc vì bị lăng mạ. (She felt deeply hurt because she was insulted.)
• The act of often implies a public or overt display of disrespect, stronger than a private argument.

Variants and Related Words

• Sự lăng mạ (noun): The act of reviling; an insult.
  • Sự lăng mạ của anh ta là không thể chấp nhận được. (His verbal abuse is unacceptable.)
• Lăng nhục (verb): A very close synonym, also meaning to humiliate or insult grievously. It can sometimes carry an even stronger connotation of degrading someone.
• Chửi mắng (verb): To scold or curse at someone. This is a broader term for verbal reprimand and can be less formal and less severe than .
• Xúc phạm (verb): To offend, to insult. This is a general term for causing offense, which can be verbal () or non-verbal.

Synonyms

• Insult: to speak to or treat with disrespect or scornful abuse.
• Revile: to criticize in an abusive or angrily insulting manner.
• Vilify: to speak or write about in an abusively disparaging manner.
• Abuse (verbally): to use harsh, insulting language.

Related Phrases / Idioms

• Lăng mạ danh dự: to insult/defame someone's honor.
  • Hành động lăng mạ danh dự người khác là vi phạm pháp luật. (The act of defaming someone's honor is against the law.)
• While itself is not typically part of a wider phrasal verb structure, it is frequently used with adverbs like thô bỉ (vilely, basely) or công khai (publicly) to intensify the meaning.
  • lăng mạ một cách thô bỉ (to revile in a vile manner)

verb

1. to revile