Vote for the best verboticism.

'When I said that you're a loser, I meant it as a compliment.'

DEFINITION: v. To exercise power through the strategic use of personal insults, while pretending to offer encouragement. n. A leader who motivates people by insulting them.

Create | Read

Verboticisms

Click on each verboticism to read the sentences created by the Verbotomy writers, and to see your voting options...

You have two votes. Click on the words to read the details, then vote your favorite.

Falrientism

protothor

Created by: protothor

Pronunciation: fall-ree-int-ism

Sentence: An expert of falrientism, even as the young boy in the back of the opposing car audited his middle finger, his smile led to unspoken compliments.

Etymology: From 'falsity' and 'charientism', a word that means basically the same thing.

| Comments and Points

Complesult

Created by: Rosshowey

Pronunciation: complesult

Sentence: She totally dissed me, but later she tried to play it all like a complesult!

Etymology:

| Comments and Points

Ensluragement

mrskellyscl

Created by: mrskellyscl

Pronunciation: en-slur-age-ment

Sentence: Margot was always ready to give ensluragement whenever someone got above their raisin by thinking they could do her job as well as she did. That way she could eliminate the competition and still sound like she was trying to help her underlings.

Etymology: encouragement: to inspire hope, courage or confidence + slur: to talk about disparagingly or insultingly; to cast a disparaging remark

----------------------------
COMMENTS:

artr It takes slurrage to stand up to your subordinates. - artr, 2010-01-06: 09:20:00

----------------------------

| Comments and Points

Meanager

Created by: pungineer

Pronunciation: Meanie + ger

Sentence: Tarquin pondered whilst refrying the fries, he was on a fascinating 'Work your way round the Deep South' US gap year, the Himalayas had been fully booked, unfortunately... yes absolutely he though to himself, yes the OED have really missed a trick there, because, right, Bubba, is quite mean, I mean you could call him a meanie even, and he's my manager, well it says so on his badge so, right, well, actually he should be called a Meanager, because that's absolutely so what he is! Maybe i will study classics at Oxford next year, I've certainly got the language skills he ruminated further as he scrapped the grits off the gumbo....

Etymology: Just like Tarquin said in the story Mean or Meanie + Manager = Meanager

----------------------------
COMMENTS:

metrohumanx When there was no crawdads, we ate dirt. - metrohumanx, 2008-08-06: 16:33:00

----------------------------

| Comments and Points

Hellnotivate

Created by: Katisms1

Pronunciation: hell-NO!-tive-ate

Sentence: Maintaining his hard-won reputation as a total S.O.B., the department manager would sneeringly "hellnotivate" his sales team into action with an endless stream of backhanded compliments.

Etymology: "(Oh) hell, no!" [Indignant reaction to the realization that the compliment one thought one just received was actually an insult.] + motivate

| Comments and Points

Scofficer

petaj

Created by: petaj

Pronunciation: SCOFF-i-sir

Sentence: MEMO To: All Staff From: Scofficer Martin %%%%%%%% It is with great pleasure that I can tell you all about Mary Jane's excellent performance. Due to her repulsive smell brought on by inadequate personal hygiene, she has single handedly reduced the number of complaints submitted at the customer service desk to zero. Congratulations Mary Jane.

Etymology: scoff + officer + sir

----------------------------
COMMENTS:

HA! - purpleartichokes, 2007-06-12: 07:51:00

This one's excellent, too. So many good words today. - Clayton, 2007-06-12: 08:31:00

that mary jane must have nulfactory senses! - jadenguy, 2007-06-12: 10:02:00

Great sentence! - mplsbohemian, 2007-06-12: 14:00:00

----------------------------

| Comments and Points

Obsucinsult

Created by: texmom

Pronunciation: Ob shew ur in sult

Sentence: After that obscurinsult she didn't know whether to thank her boss or cry

Etymology: obscure + insult Yes, I misspelled it and can't go back

----------------------------
COMMENTS:

I meant it to be obscurinsult... but maybe... I should just leave it like it is. - texmom, 2007-06-12: 07:23:00

----------------------------

| Comments and Points

Supersnide

Created by: kendriveset

Pronunciation: su-per-snide

Sentence: Joseph thought that he was doing a great job, until the supersnide Nancy congratulated him with verbal punishment.

Etymology: super + snide

----------------------------
COMMENTS:

supersniderrific! - Nosila, 2010-01-07: 01:01:00

----------------------------

| Comments and Points

Mockliment

Created by: ErWenn

Pronunciation: /ˈmɑkləˌmɛnt/

Sentence: It wasn't the fact that he mocklimented everyone that was so annoying; it was the fact that he seemed to think everyone was too stupid to notice.

Etymology: From compliment + mock

----------------------------
COMMENTS:

good one ErWenn - Jabberwocky, 2007-06-12: 12:04:00

son does that to me all the time. At least now I've got a word for it! Thanx! - administraitor, 2007-06-12: 15:08:00

----------------------------

| Comments and Points

Mastard

Created by: Clayton

Pronunciation: MAS-terd

Sentence: H. Clancy Pettigrew was a mastard of insultimate penuriousadism. His misanthrapaciousness was rivaled only by his truculentertaining friendishness.

Etymology: master + bastard

----------------------------
COMMENTS:

Interestingly, there is a rhetorical term for the art of insulting people without them knowing it: Charientism. Traditionally it means "the act of stating something objectionable in an agreeable manner." - Clayton, 2007-06-12: 08:25:00

petaj I love this sentence. It's a cornucopious assemblerection of tonguetwisting verbsmithery. - petaj, 2007-06-12: 08:41:00

I get it from years of reading Sir Thomas Urquhart of Cromarty. Please don't tell anyone! - Clayton, 2007-06-12: 08:48:00

you're secret's safe with me. - jadenguy, 2007-06-12: 10:01:00

Nooooo! The only way three people can keep a secret is if two of me are already dead! Now I'll have to start reading other lunatics with undying affinities for pointless displays of frantic hippopotomonstrosesquipedalianism. - Clayton, 2007-06-12: 10:11:00

Wow! love the sentence - Jabberwocky, 2007-06-12: 15:00:00

----------------------------

| Comments and Points

Show All or More...

 

Comments:

Verbotomy Verbotomy - 2007-06-12: 01:52:00
The second step in Timothy Johnson's GUST process is Understanding. And apparently, based on the number of definitions we received on this topic, everybody understands what it is like to have a bad boss. Today's definition was suggested by ohwtepph , suzanne, and remistram. Thank you ohwtepph, suzanne, remistram, and Timothy! ~ James

lumina - 2008-08-07: 13:49:00
Wow! So fun and an honor to have come up with the "winning" word. "I'd like to thank the Academy, my parents and of course Jesus." ha Thanks to the voters! (she says as the music starts playing and the tap dancing man with the hook from the gong show comes into view...)

Verbotomy Verbotomy - 2010-01-06: 00:05:00
Today's definition was suggested by ohwtepph. Thank you ohwtepph. ~ James