Wiktionary

inveigh

English edit

WOTD – 5 August 2011

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

Borrowed from Latin invehō (“bring in, carry in”), from in- + vehō (“carry”). Compare vehicle, invective.

Pronunciation edit

  • (UK, US) IPA(key): /ɪnˈveɪ/
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Audio (AU)(file)
  • Rhymes: -eɪ

Verb edit

inveigh (third-person singular simple present inveighs, present participle inveighing, simple past and past participle inveighed)

  1. (intransitive, with against or occasionally about, formerly also with on, at, upon) To complain loudly, to give voice to one's censure or criticism [from 16th c.]
    • 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volumes (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC:
      He inveighed against the folly of making oneself liable for the debts of others; vented many bitter execrations against the brother; and concluded with wishing something could be done for the unfortunate family.
    • 1860, William Cullen Bryant, letter, 14 Sep 1860:
      I saw Mr. Cairns yesterday. He inveighed at great length at what he called Mr. Willis's neglect of his children, saying he had just discovered that they got no whortleberries and no fish, and that he was just beginning to send them those things.
    • 1989, Jack Vance, Madouc:
      Noblemen loyal to King Milo inveighed upon him, until at last he sent off dispatches to King Audry and King Aillas, alerting them to the peculiar rash of forays, raids and provocations current along the Lyonesse border.
    • 1999 September 26, Will Hutton, “A pox on euro sceptics”, in The Guardian‎[1], →ISSN:
      Only last week, three aggressively written pamphlets crossed my desk inveighing against the euro.
    • 2011 August 18, Elizabeth Drew, “What were they thinking?”, in New York Review of Books:
      After the President, in a press conference in late June, inveighed against tax breaks for corporate jets, the industry quickly insisted that such a change would cost jobs.
    • 2016 February 9, Patrick Healy, Jonathan Martin, The New York Times:
      He declared his independence from a reviled status quo by inveighing in blunt and occasionally vulgar terms about “stupid” leaders weakening America.
    • 2024 April 16, Christopher Beam, “Welcome to Pricing Hell”, in The Atlantic‎[2]:
      He [Plato] also inveighed against the hotel fees of his day, condemning people who show hospitality to travelers but then extract “the most unjust, abominable, and extortionate ransom.”
  2. (obsolete, transitive) To draw in or away; to entice, inveigle. [17th–19th c.]
    • c. 1680, Samuel Butler, Genuine Remains:
      He is a Spirit, that inveighs away a Man from himself, undertakes great Matters for him, and after fells him for a Slave.

Derived terms edit

Translations edit

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