The onslaught of profanities and false accusations took both a physical and mental toll. It's defined not so much by the particular words spoken as by the intent of the speaker. In the legal world, there are at least two elements that have to be proven in order to convict a person of an offense. The object of violence, verbal or otherwise, is to do harm. Verbal violence can take many forms.
Verbal abuse is unjustified, unremitting harsh criticism.
Criticism is unjustified when you are criticizing someone for doing exactly what you told or asked them to do. He said not to bother doing his laundry, then when his boss called and asked him to come in on Saturday unexpectedly, he got mad at me because his favorite shirt wasn't clean. Criticism is unjustified when you are criticizing for something that was in the past, for which the person has already apologized and promised not to do anymore, and hasn't done anymore. He said he forgave me, and that was over a year ago. I've been completely faithful to him ever since, but every time we have an argument, about anything, he brings that up, and he calls me a slut and a whore.