calumny

noun

cal·​um·​ny ˈka-ləm-nē 

 also  ˈkal-yəm-

plural calumnies

1

: a misrepresentation intended to harm another's reputation

denounced his opponent for his defamatory insinuations and calumny

2

: the act of uttering false charges or misrepresentations maliciously calculated to harm another's reputation

He was the target of calumny for his unpopular beliefs.

calumnious

kə-ˈləm-nē-əs 

adjective

calumniously adverb

Did you know?

Calumny made an appearance in these famous words from William Shakespeare's Hamlet: "If thou dost marry, I'll give thee this plague for thy dowry: be thou chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny. Get thee to a nunnery, go." The word had been in the English language for a while, though, before Hamlet uttered it. It first entered English in the 15th century and comes from the Middle French word calomnie of the same meaning. Calomnie, in turn, derives from the Latin word calumnia, (meaning "false accusation," "false claim," or "trickery"), which itself traces to the Latin verb calvi, meaning "to deceive."

Synonyms

• libel
• defamation
• libelling
• libeling
• defaming

Examples of calumny in a Sentence

They uttered calumnies against him.

He was the target of calumny for his unpopular beliefs.

Recent Examples on the Web

That’s when his ugly-American calumny turned to blather. —Armond White, National Review, 28 May 2025

That brings us to the other calumnies Vance and Trump have directed at the Haitians in Springfield. —Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2024

This egregious calumny is not, however, attributable solely to the disease of the soul that translates into Republicanism according to Biden. —The Editors, National Review, 22 May 2024

The bid to excuse Wilson by comparison to his conservative Republican successors is a calumny. —Dan McLaughlin, National Review, 6 Feb. 2024

Within Israel, though, the ICJ case is seen by most as a calumny that only proves antisemitism’s enduring nature. —Marc Champion, Twin Cities, 21 Jan. 2024

For years, the British government maintained that the dead were combatants and that some of them belonged to the I.R.A. To family members, this was a calumny that for decades shadowed their lives. —David Segal, New York Times, 13 Oct. 2023

Claiming otherwise is a despicable calumny. —James Freeman, WSJ, 25 May 2021

From the calumny and chaos of John Tyler's presidency to Andrew Johnson's drunken swearing-in, the conduct of several Presidents have been less-than stellar. —Sydney Walton, CNN, 16 Jan. 2021

Word History

Etymology

Middle English calumnye, from Middle French & Latin; Middle French calomnie, from Latin calumnia, from calvi to deceive; perhaps akin to Old English hōlian to slander, Greek kēlein to beguile

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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