Emotional Abuse Vocabulary

verb to make someone or something seem less impressive or important

• She felt belittled by his condescending remarks during the meeting.
• I hate it when people belittle me in front of others.
• Stop trying to belittle me, I know what I'm doing.
• His towering achievements belittled my own accomplishments.

adjective causing pain or injury; damaging; injurious

• Her hurtful words left a lasting impact on his self-esteem.
• I can't believe she said such hurtful things to you.
• Those comments were so hurtful, I can't even.
• The betrayal felt like a dagger of hurtful words piercing his heart.

noun a severe scolding or verbal attack

verb to scold or criticize harshly

• The politician received a tongue lash from the opposition during the debate.
• She gave him a good tongue lashing for forgetting their anniversary.
• The teacher's tongue lash was brutal after catching the students cheating on the test.
• The harsh criticism felt like a tongue lash to his ego.