as in slander
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Recent Examples of backbiting
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
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
-
And always these massacres were preceded by vilification, by slanders.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
10 May 2026
-
But that wasn’t the only Scheshu slander on Vanderpump Villa season 3.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
19 Apr. 2026
Noun
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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
Noun
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When Faye won Senegal’s 2024 presidential election, it was widely understood as a victory engineered by Sonko, his political mentor who had been barred from contesting the election himself after a defamation conviction.—
Alexis Akwagyiram,
semafor.com,
25 May 2026
-
Claims of conspiracy, defamation and trespassing have swirled.—
DANA HEDGPETH THE WASHINGTON POST,
Arkansas Online,
24 May 2026
Noun
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The first and third items in this indictment are indisputable; the second is a complicated and qualified matter; and the last two are libels, still part of popular legend no matter how often disproved by serious biography.—
Thomas Mallon,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
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As media and society continued to evolve, some of these ideas—such as libel law revisions and expanded freedom of expression—gained ground through various means.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
18 May 2026
Noun
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Bezos decries 'vilification' of the rich Jeff Bezos speaks with CNBC's Squawk Box from Merrit Island, Florida on May 20th, 2026.—
Kevin Breuninger,Annie Palmer,
CNBC,
20 May 2026
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And always these massacres were preceded by vilification, by slanders.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
10 May 2026
Noun
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The contract contained a non-disparagement clause, and in law, the special thing about disparagement is that unlike defamation, the truth is not a defense against disparagement.—
Marlow Stern,
Variety,
28 Apr. 2026
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And the Times Magazine suggested the idea of discovering a similar past disparagement clause to the one that plagued HBO might dissuade any network from tackling a future Jackson project.—
Steve Knopper,
Rolling Stone,
22 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Amid aspersions and attack ads, the pair nearly came to blows at a community debate.—
Dakota Smith,
Los Angeles Times,
11 May 2026
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Not Calvin Klein casting gay aspersions!—
Emma Specter,
Vogue,
19 Feb. 2026
Noun
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For me, this marks an early moment in the denigration of women.—
Eana Kim,
ARTnews.com,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Nowhere is there the vitriol or denigration found in MAGA gatherings.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
1 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Backbiting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backbiting. Accessed 28 May. 2026.
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