as in attack dog
one who makes harsh, personal attacks against opponents
a local hot-button issue that has turned some normally mild-mannered neighbors into letter-writing mudslingers
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of mudslinger
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mudslinger
Noun
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After Trump won, Giuliani continued as his attack dog, even traveling to Ukraine to seek damaging information about Biden’s son Hunter.—
Michael R. Sisak,
Los Angeles Times,
4 May 2026
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After Trump won, Giuliani continued as his attack dog, even traveling to Ukraine to seek damaging information about Biden’s son, Hunter.—
Michael R. Sisak,
Fortune,
4 May 2026
Noun
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Justice Kagan has sometimes been viewed as a strategist rather than a polemicist, who tries to forge agreements with the Court’s more moderate conservative members.—
Jeannie Suk Gersen,
New Yorker,
2 May 2026
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Whereas Schafer was a polemicist, wanting to impose his ideas onto society, Lockwood is interested in a personal symbiosis with nature, beginning with the humble belief that one is open to change.—
Joshua Minsoo Kim,
Pitchfork,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The small fish, also known as remoras, are known for attaching themselves to larger marine animals — including whales and sharks — for protection, free transportation and food.—
Desiree Anello,
PEOPLE,
12 May 2026
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In a new study, researchers documented seven cases of remoras, a fish known for suctioning itself onto rays—as well as sharks, dolphins, boats and even divers—plunging into manta rays' cloacal orifice, an opening used for pooping, peeing and mating.—
Jackie Flynn Mogensen,
Scientific American,
11 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mudslinger.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mudslinger. Accessed 16 May. 2026.
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