Definition

1. Verb:
   • To revile / to vilify: To criticize someone in a very harsh, insulting, and abusive manner, often with the intent to humiliate or degrade them.
   • To berate abusively: To scold or condemn someone using offensive and contemptuous language.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Anh ta bị sếp xỉ vả trước mặt cả phòng. (He was reviled by his boss in front of the whole office.)
  • Đừng xỉ vả người khác chỉ vì họ mắc lỗi. (Don't berate others abusively just because they made a mistake.)
  • Bà ấy xỉ vả hàng xóm vì chuyện nhỏ. (She vilified her neighbor over a trivial matter.)

Advanced Usage

• The term "xỉ vả" carries a strong connotation of unjust, excessive, and demeaning verbal attack. It is more severe than simple criticism or scolding.
• It often implies a power imbalance, where the person doing the "xỉ vả" is in a position to humiliate the recipient publicly or privately.

Variants and Related Words

• Mắng nhiếc (v): to scold and curse; a close synonym, though sometimes considered slightly less intense than "xỉ vả."
• Chửi bới (v): to swear at, to curse. This focuses more on the use of profanity, while "xỉ vả" emphasizes degrading criticism.
• Lăng mạ (v): to insult, to offend. This is a formal term for insulting someone's honor.

Synonyms

• Revile: To criticize in an abusive or angrily insulting manner.
• Vilify: To speak or write about in a very abusive manner.
• Berate: To scold or criticize angrily.
• Abuse: To use harsh and insulting language.

Related Idioms

• Xỉ vả thậm tệ: To revile someone terribly or outrageously.
  • Ông chủ đã xỉ vả thậm tệ nhân viên. (The boss reviled the employee outrageously.)
• While "xỉ vả" itself is a strong verb, it is commonly intensified with adverbs like "thậm tệ" (terribly) or "tàn nhẫn" (cruelly) to emphasize the severity of the verbal abuse.