BACKBITING Synonyms: 42 Similar and Opposite Words

backbiting

noun

as in slander

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of backbiting In the meantime, Democrats have seemingly resolved at least one 2028 fight, a fracas marked by snarking, backbiting and plenty of acrimony — all the things that make our politics such a grand and glorious endeavor. — Los Angeles Times, 2 Aug. 2026 Andy Burnham, Britain’s soon-to-be prime minister, wants an array of bold new policies to attract voters who have grown tired of a Labour government mired in indecision and political backbiting. — Philip Aldrick, Fortune, 28 June 2026 There’s also a fair amount of political mudslinging and backbiting. — Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 June 2026 Albers takes all this in stride, returning to his output as a touchstone, an extension of the real Kertész, beyond the backbiting and self-pity. — New York Times, 4 Feb. 2026 Sadly, Sister Wives has really become an experience of criticism and backbiting. — Liza Esquibias, PEOPLE, 28 Sep. 2025 The industry functions on a delicate infrastructure of intimidation, backbiting, and the occasional contract amid endless favors, yanking Aasmaan through its machinations like a rag doll in the wind. — Proma Khosla, IndieWire, 19 Sep. 2025 The Girlfriend does not pretend all of this plotting and backbiting isn’t soapy nonsense. — Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2025 The depictions of the New York literati scene, with its backbiting and wary camaraderie, are effective but all too brief. — Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor, 3 Apr. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for backbiting

Noun

Manipulating defenses and defending like he’s taken some slander personally.

— Mirjam Swanson, Los Angeles Times, 7 Nov. 2026
In addition to the restraining order, Fif has also filed a $6 million civil suit against Kemp in California, citing libel and slander, false light invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

— Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 29 Oct. 2026

Definition of slander

Noun

Pratt was just another angry New Yorker hectoring calumnies against all forms of authority.

— Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 14 May 2026
The declaration also highlights the need to report facts, not suppress or falsify information, and avoid discrimination, bribery, and calumny.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 May 2026

Definition of calumny

Noun

This is the second time a federal judge has tossed the defamation suit, which sought $10 billion in damages.

— Scott Nover, Washington Post, 1 Nov. 2026
Trump sought at least $20 billion in damages on two counts of defamation in the initial suit, filed in July 2025.

— Payton Turkeltaub, Variety, 31 Oct. 2026

Definition of defamation

Noun

Giuliani was also slapped with a $148-million libel verdict for smearing two election workers in Georgia.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 8 Nov. 2026
In addition to the restraining order, Fif has also filed a $6 million civil suit against Kemp in California, citing libel and slander, false light invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

— Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 29 Oct. 2026

Definition of libel

Noun

This appears in defenses of Macklemore’s conduct and the vilification of the owners.

— Kenneth L. Marcus, New York Daily News, 25 Sep. 2026
But its cultural dominance became bound up in a widespread vilification of Drake that curdled online, where the most damning interpretation of anything could quickly become the accepted one.

— Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of vilification

Noun

Its projections also don’t cast any aspersions on when a fiscal crisis—if any—might occur, though members of Congress might ask.

— Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 28 Oct. 2026
The Tigers’ middling performance against Troy and sloppy play in spurts has cast some aspersions on their aspirations.

— PJ Green September 22, Kansas City Star, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of aspersion

Noun

As my colleague Clare Malone has reported in this magazine, Weiss first came to public attention in college, as a consequence of her support for Israel and consistent denigrations of the Palestinian cause.

— Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2026
Freedom, mobility; who gets to be an artist; style, ornamentation, artifice; work, leisure; the counterculture; the denigration of femininity; West Coast oddballism.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of denigration

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backbeats

backbiting

backbone

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“Backbiting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backbiting. Accessed 13 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of backbiting

noun

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