bad-mouth

verb

ˈbad-ˌmau̇th 

-ˌmau̇t͟h

bad-mouthed; bad-mouthing; bad-mouths

transitive verb

: to criticize severely

Synonyms of bad-mouth

• dismiss
• minimize
• criticize
• diminish
• disparage
• denigrate
• belittle

Examples of bad-mouth in a Sentence

she promptly bad-mouthed that awful movie to everyone she knew

Recent Examples on the Web

After filing the grievance, Chick accused Lieder of bad-mouthing her to other lawmakers. — Nick Coltrain, Denver Post, 18 Aug. 2026

He also bad-mouths my son’s wife. — Abigail Van Buren, Boston Herald, 8 June 2026

At one point, Brown stepped away from the set, and co-stars Antoni Porowski, Tan France and Jonathan van Ness began bad-mouthing him behind his back, while his mom heard the whole conversation, according to TMZ. — Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 21 Jan. 2026

Most of the people who were bad-mouthing Titanic had not seen so much as a minute of film. — Stacy Lambe, PEOPLE, 22 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1933, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

bad-mouth

verb

-ˌmau̇th, 

-ˈmaut͟h

: to say bad things about