as in libel
the use of personal attacks or insults in order to undermine an opponent
the ceaseless mudslinging merely convinced voters that neither candidate was worth voting for
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Recent Examples of mudslinging
Less than two years after their wedding, Harry and Meghan stepped down from their royal duties, amidst a bevy of allegations, mudslinging and familial tension.
—
Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 6 Sep. 2025
Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani is calling on mayoral rival Andrew Cuomo to release a list of his consulting clients, even trying to tie Cuomo to Jeffery Epstein in a new video as mudslinging between the candidates ramps up.
—Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News, 12 Aug. 2025
Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 6 Sep. 2025
Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani is calling on mayoral rival Andrew Cuomo to release a list of his consulting clients, even trying to tie Cuomo to Jeffery Epstein in a new video as mudslinging between the candidates ramps up.
—Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News, 12 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mudslinging
Noun
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Falwell sued for invasion of privacy, libel and intentional infliction of emotional distress.—
BrieAnna J. Frank,
USA Today,
5 Sep. 2025
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Harper denied the allegations, and Huizenga filed a libel lawsuit against the former contestant.—
Emily Blackwood,
People.com,
23 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Ivins gleefully chronicled legislators’ fistfights, shoving matches, name-calling, and double-crossing.—
Rachel Monroe,
New Yorker,
2 Sep. 2025
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Trump has also threatened to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell, often taunting him with name-calling.—
Alex Veiga,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The agents had been following leads from an anti-trafficking organization, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, that in 2015 had uncovered the abuses of harvesters at an onion farm near Vidalia.—
ProPublica,
ProPublica,
13 Sep. 2025
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California officials are trying to kill the fossil fuel industry in the state while simultaneously seeking a buyer for Valero Energy’s Benicia refinery near San Francisco, which is scheduled to close in April because the company no longer wants to deal with the abuse from Sacramento.—
Kerry Jackson,
Oc Register,
13 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mudslinging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mudslinging. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
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