Revile, v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Reviled; p. pr. & vb. n. Reviling.]
Etymology: [Pref. re- + OF. aviler to make vile, depreciate, F. avilir; à (L. ad.) + vil vile. See Vile.]
To address or abuse with opprobrious and contemptuous language; to reproach. "And did not she herself revile me there" Shak. Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again. 1 Pet. ii. 23.
Syn. -- To reproach; vilify; upbraid; calumniate.
1 other Webster entry under this spelling
Revile, n.
Reproach; reviling. [Obs.] The gracious Judge, without revile, replied. Milton.
Shades of meaning
Fernald has no entry of its own for revile; he lists it under abuse, slander.
Where he writes about it:
Defame, malign, rail at, revile, slander, vilify, and vituperate are used always in a bad sense. — from abuse
To asperse is, as it were, to bespatter with injurious charges; to malign is to circulate studied and malicious attacks upon character; to traduce is to exhibit one's real or assumed traits in an odious light; to revile or vilify is to attack with vile abuse. — from slander