2 uses
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Definition
to severely harm — especially by fire or through criticism
- On those rare occasions when we watched television without my grandmother, we were disappointed; without Grandmother's running, scathing commentary, there were few programs that could sustain our interest.p. 264.9
- And to the students of Gravesend who thus chafed against their bonds, the only accepted tone was caustic—was biting, mordant, bitter, scathing sarcasm, the juicy vocabulary of which Owen Meany had already learned from my grandmother.p. 293.2
There are no more uses of "scathing" in A Prayer for Owen Meany.
Typical Usage
(best examples)