maligning 1 of 3

noun

Definition of maligningnext
as in defamation
the making of false statements that damage another's reputation public maligning of a person can actually be grounds for a lawsuit

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

maligning

2 of 3

adjective

as in insulting

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

maligning

3 of 3

verb

present participle of malign
as in smearing
to make untrue and harmful statements about a candidate who believes that it is possible to win an election without maligning anyone

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for maligning
  1. defamation
  2. insulting
  3. libel
  4. disparaging
  5. degrading
  6. demeaning
  7. discrediting
  8. libelous
Noun
  • After a defamation lawsuit, the film’s publishers, Salem Media Group, retracted the film, removing it from its platforms, and said there wouldn't be any future distribution of the book.
    Dhruv Mehrotra, WIRED, 5 Nov. 2024
  • The defamation lawsuit alleges that the newspaper did not verify the social media claims, which were false and designed to sway voters, the president’s father said in several statements.
    Reuters, NBC News, 5 Nov. 2024
Definition of defamation
Adjective
  • Joe Biden denounced offensive jokes that podcast host Tony Hinchcliffe made about Puerto Rico during Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally over the weekend, but the president also made a comment some prominent Republicans quickly called insulting to the former president's supporters.
    Karissa Waddick, USA TODAY, 30 Oct. 2024
  • No matter, the response was swift and harsh from the often insulting and foul-mouthed Trump and other Republicans.
    Dominic Patten, Deadline, 30 Oct. 2024
Definition of insulting
Noun
  • Rachel Weisz played you in Denial, the movie about your being sued for libel by a Holocaust denier.
    Karl Vick, TIME, 29 Oct. 2024
  • The initial libel case related to Robinson making false accusations against a Syrian schoolboy who was attacked in an incident shared widely on social media.
    Lauren Kent, CNN, 28 Oct. 2024
Definition of libel
Adjective
  • Prior to appearing on Cunningham's show on Monday, Huggins made more disparaging remarks about Xavier.
    Emily DeLetter, The Enquirer, 10 May 2023
  • Will Smith was given the Golden Raspberry Awards’ lone non-disparaging prize, with Smith earning the Redeemer Award after landing an actual Oscar nod for his role in King RIchard; Nicolas Cage and Jamie Dornan were also considered for the quasi-honor.
    Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 26 Mar. 2022
Definition of disparaging
Adjective
  • Read: ‘Shallow Hal’ and the never-ending fat joke Among Lost’s most degrading tropes was Hurley’s obsession with junk food.
    Rebecca Bodenheimer, The Atlantic, 30 Sep. 2024
  • Throughout her time in Danity Kane and later Diddy-Dirty Money, Richard claims that Combs would make degrading comments about her body and physical appearance.
    Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2024
Definition of degrading
Adjective
  • This comes after the former president's Madison Square Garden rally where comedian Tony Hinchcliffe made demeaning jokes about Puerto Rico and Latinos in general.
    Hannah Parry, Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2024
  • Also, the former president has made demeaning comments about women in the past.
    Kelsey Walsh, ABC News, 24 Sep. 2024
Definition of demeaning
Verb
  • Many of the conspiracy theories have prompted FEMA to create a page on its site discrediting rumors and false information about its response to Hurricane Helene.
    Nicole Sganga, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2024
  • Still, the United States didn’t recognize Haiti as a nation until 1862, during the Civil War, when American leadership was looking for any support in discrediting slavery.
    Chadd Scott, Forbes, 10 Oct. 2024
Definition of discrediting
Adjective
  • Newspapers also worried about potentially libelous posts.
    Mike Savino, Hartford Courant, 8 July 2024
  • And finally, modern far-right terrorists still frequently invoke the same libelous assertion that white women must be protected from licentious Black men.
    TIME, TIME, 14 May 2024
Definition of libelous
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near maligning

maligned

maligning

malignity

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Cite this Entry

“Maligning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/maligning. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

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More from Merriam-Webster on maligning

Nglish: Translation of maligning for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of maligning for Arabic Speakers

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