as in defamation
the making of false statements that damage another's reputation
this smearing has got to stop, or the voters will conclude that there's absolutely no one worth voting for
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in coating
to rub an oily or sticky substance over
the toddler gleefully smeared her hair and face with maple syrup
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in libelling
to make untrue and harmful statements about
he is willing to smear his opponent if doing so would win the election
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smearing
Noun
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Newsmax was motivated to raise money through an IPO partly due to the defamation lawsuits against the channel stemming from the 2020 election.—
Brian Stelter,
CNN Money,
1 Apr. 2025 -
Baldoni denies the allegations and has responded with a $400M countersuit, accusing Lively of defamation.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
31 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Baldoni has since sued The Times for libel, and the newspaper stood by its coverage.—
Benjamin VanHoose,
People.com,
31 Mar. 2025
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On New Year’s Eve, Baldoni and nine other plaintiffs, including his crisis publicist Melissa Nathan, sued the New York Times for $250 million for libel over their initial story about Lively’s allegations.—
Zack Sharf,
Variety,
26 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Wear gloves when touching cleaning products, take a break from painting your nails, and avoid acetone nail polish remover.—
Carrie Madormo, RN,
Health,
24 Dec. 2024
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Homages to the Bethesda games’ slow-motion kills are aplenty, with gratuitous shots of bullets tearing through bodies and painting the walls red.—
Ars Technica,
Ars Technica,
24 Dec. 2024
Verb
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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
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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
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Cite this Entry
“Smearing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smearing. Accessed 14 Apr. 2025.
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