bad-mouth

verb

ˈbad-ˌmau̇th How to pronounce bad-mouth (audio)
Definition of bad-mouthnext
as in to dismiss
to express scornfully one's low opinion of she promptly bad-mouthed that awful movie to everyone she knew

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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 bad-mouth This is not some glossy revisionist history of a person’s life; the man had a beautiful soul who didn’t have it in him to bad-mouth a cockroach. — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Sep. 2025 Ranting on LinkedIn and bad-mouthing your ex-employer or naming and shaming your last negative recruitment experience won’t help you either. — Rachel Wells, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025 This was a departure from Mourinho and Conte, who both moaned about investment, attacked the club culture, exited unceremoniously, and bad-mouthed them afterward. — Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2025 Leading up to the premiere of It Ends With Us last year, Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni reached an uneasy truce in which it was agreed that neither side would bad-mouth the other to the press. — Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for bad-mouth
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bad-mouth
  1. dismiss
  2. minimize
  3. criticize
  4. diminish
  5. disparage
  6. denigrate
  7. belittle
Verb
  • Bacelar disputed the accusations and said the lawsuit is filled with recycled claims that were previously litigated and dismissed.
    — Alene Tchekmedyian, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Tyreek Hill was also a polarizing receiver who faced a 2014 domestic assault case that was dismissed and a 2019 child abuse probe, though no charges were filed.
    — Scott Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of dismiss
Verb
  • While any sunscreen stick can shift your foundation or blush a bit, this one's smooth, almost primer-like texture helps minimize tugging.
    — Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 28 Oct. 2026
  • That’s not to minimize any of these genres in the comparison, or to give any time to the laughable claim that escapist fiction is low-brow, reductive fare.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of minimize
Verb
  • Vance has neither criticized his friend nor publicly nudged Carlson to temper what’s been harsh criticism of Israel — and Trump’s cultivation of the Netanyahu government.
    — Shelby Talcott, semafor.com, 26 Oct. 2026
  • At an October debate, Bass pointed out that Raman, as chair of the city council’s housing and homelessness committee, had repeatedly approved spending on Inside Safe, the very program Raman now criticizes as expensive and insufficiently accountable.
    — Maxwell Adler, Vanity Fair, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of criticize
Verb
  • Members of Congress could be expected to resist presidential encroachments because those encroachments diminished their own power.
    — Stephanie A, The Conversation, 26 Oct. 2026
  • In theory, such an arrangement diminishes the cells’ ability to transport oxygen from the lungs.
    — D. T. Max, New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of diminish
Verb
  • The actress said Toback later made disparaging remarks about her appearance, including comments about her hips.
    — Christina Dugan Ramirez, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Clayburn further testified that Gonzalez and her family routinely disparaged Avery in front of his daughter.
    — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of disparage
Verb
  • Eight months later during an appearance on a Cincinnati radio station, Huggins used a homophobic slur to refer to Xavier fans while also denigrating Catholics.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026
  • This is not to denigrate what pathbreaking American technology companies can accomplish on their own—their innovation is the envy of the world, and rightly so.
    — DAVID S. COHEN, Foreign Affairs, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of denigrate
Verb
  • In 2015, she was suspended for a week after a video surfaced of her yelling at and belittling a towing company employee.
    — Chuck Schilken, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The answer is not to belittle the fear, but to make visible commitments people can judge.
    — Bob Pearson, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of belittle

Browse Nearby Words

badly
bad-mouth
bad-mouthed
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Cite this Entry

“Bad-mouth.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bad-mouth. Accessed 30 Oct. 2026.

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