You met the everyday words for praise and blame in earlier topics (commend, laud, rebuke, berate). These ten are rarer and stronger, the kind you find in reviews, speeches and history books.
Key idea
High praise (nouns): encomium, panegyric, plaudit, paean. Harsh blame (verbs): excoriate, castigate, upbraid, lambaste. Attacking a person’s name: vilify (paint as evil), impugn (question their honesty).
A handy pattern: the four praise words are all nouns (you give a panegyric), and the six blame words are all verbs (you castigate someone).
The ten words
Common mistake
impugn attacks someone's honesty or a claim's truth; it does not mean to punish. paean is pronounced PEE-un, like "peon," but means a song of praise.
| praise (nouns) | meaning | blame (verbs) | meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| encomium | a speech of high praise | excoriate | criticize very harshly |
| panegyric | public praise before all | castigate | scold severely |
| plaudit | a cheer of approval | upbraid | scold sharply |
| paean | a joyful song of praise | lambaste | criticize harshly |
| vilify | paint as evil | ||
| impugn | question someone’s honesty |
Impugn does not mean to punish: to impugn someone’s motives is to suggest they are dishonest. And paean is said PEE-un.