What does scathing mean?
Word: Scathing
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Scathing means extremely critical in a sharp, stinging way.
Synonyms: severe
How do you spell scathing?
Syllables: scath - ing
Tricky part: The base word ends in e, and pupils keep that e when they add ing.
Watch out for: scatheing, scaithing, scathinge
Memory tip: Treat it like bake and baking: the final e of the base word drops out before ing.
Scathing in a sentence
Example 1: The cricket captain's scathing words about the fielding woke the whole team up.
Example 2: Her diary contains a scathing account of the school trip's food.
Example 3: After one scathing comment from the judge, the singer chose a different song.
Fun Fact
An old verb scathe once meant to harm. Besides scathing, its main trace in daily speech is unscathed, used when someone comes through a tough spot unharmed.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
One word in the list is misspelt and three are spelt correctly. Choose its meaning.
1. lucid 2. frugal 3. skathing 4. candid
a) honest and direct when speaking
b) cutting in what it says about someone's work
c) careful about spending money
d) clear and easy to understand
Show answer
b) cutting in what it says about someone's work. A k has pushed out the proper letter here; candid, lucid and frugal are spelt correctly.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
schathing
a) t
b) i
c) h
d) c
Show answer
c) h. School opens with three consonants, but this word opens with two.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
Her iatcgshn remarks on the untidy hostel rooms got everyone cleaning at once.
a) soothing
b) scathing
c) sweeping
d) seething
Show answer
b) scathing. The jumble has a c and an a, and those two letters settle it.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word scathing as used in the sentence:
The magazine published a scathing review of the new restaurant's menu.
a) withering
b) biting
c) complimentary
d) blistering
Show answer
c) complimentary. Withering, blistering and biting are as harsh as the review itself; complimentary means full of praise.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A teacher writes a scathing report on a group project. What should the group expect to read?
a) a warm note of thanks for trying
b) a plan for next week's lesson
c) a blunt list of what went badly
d) a neutral summary of the topic
Show answer
c) a blunt list of what went badly
2. Which line would you expect to find in a scathing food review?
a) The soup was warm and the rice was fresh.
b) The soup tasted of nothing and the rice was worse.
c) The soup was cheap and the rice was filling.
d) The soup came along with a side of rice.
Show answer
b) The soup tasted of nothing and the rice was worse.
