mudslinger

noun

mud·​sling·​er ˈməd-ˌsliŋ-ər How to pronounce mudslinger (audio)
: one that makes malicious attacks especially against a political opponent
mudslinging noun

Examples of mudslinger in a Sentence

a local hot-button issue that has turned some normally mild-mannered neighbors into letter-writing mudslingers
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Social media platforms were a critical battleground during the campaign, with political mudslingers waging cyberwar with few legal constraints after the government failed to act on calls for a new law to protect democracy in the internet age. Washington Post, 12 Dec. 2019 In 2010, when the group launched ahead of Barack Obama’s reelection campaign, Brock had imposed a set of self-regulations on the staff that would cultivate an air of respectability for the mudslingers. Gabriel Debenedetti, Daily Intelligencer, 20 May 2018 What must be almost the last charge of this decimated brigade of mudslingers approaches again, carrying with them like a Kathy Griffin icon the utter imbecility of the Steele accusations. Conrad Black, National Review, 11 Oct. 2017 If that lady is a 101-year-old movie legend, any would-be mudslingers best take care, her attorney said this week. Christie D'zurilla, latimes.com, 2 Sep. 2017 He isn’t known as a dogface solider boy or mudslinger in South Miami. Alex Butler, miamiherald, 28 Apr. 2017

Word History

First Known Use

1876, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of mudslinger was in 1876

Dictionary Entries Near mudslinger

Cite this Entry

“Mudslinger.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mudslinger. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!