calumniateverb [ I or T ]
/kəˈlʌm.ni.eɪt//kəˈlʌm.ni.eɪt/formalto make statements about someone that are not true and that are damaging to their reputation:
He has tried to calumniate and destroy everyone whose opinions differ from his.
More examples
- He claimed that we had grossly calumniated the medical profession.
- Is this the liberty of the press, to calumniate an individual in the way my client has been calumniated?
- Do you think he is capable of lying or calumniating in court?
- He spoke of being persecuted and calumniated by a small group of rich and powerful people.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Damaging reputation
- besmirch
- black mark
- blacken
- blot
- blot your copybook idiom
- calumnious
- drag sb's name through the mire/mud idiom
- give a dog a bad name idiom
- hurl/throw/sling mud at sb idiom
- impugn
- libel
- mud
- poison
- show someone in a bad light idiom
- slander
- stab
- stain
- sully
- taint
- vilify
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