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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
  • In other developments, Ukraine's parliament voted to dismiss Ruslan Kravchenko from the post of prosecutor general Tuesday.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Critics dismissed the threat as a ploy to manufacture leverage in deal discussions.
    — Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of dismiss
Verb
  • Dyson addresses that issue with an anti-gravity tank and a diaphragm pump designed to minimize air pockets.
    — Maryna Holovnova, New Atlas, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Promote Business Continuity By Maximizing Uptime Many businesses focus on minimizing downtime, reducing the amount of time systems or services are unavailable.
    — Rick Elliott, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of minimize
Verb
  • Festival in London, which featured performances from Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean (though their set was abruptly cut short due to a noise ordinance, which Chappelle criticized).
    — Jaeden Pinder, Rolling Stone, 14 Sep. 2026
  • The Herald previously reported that employees and former employees had criticized 21 Air for its unsafe working conditions.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of criticize
Verb
  • Employees need clarity on how new skills connect to opportunities and confidence that AI will enhance, not diminish, their value in the organization.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2026
  • If the senator’s moralism has been unfettered by his stroke, with a shift toward right-brain moralistic processing, that does not diminish his sincere intent or its effect.
    — Michael P.H. Stanley, STAT, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of diminish
Verb
  • Never mind that she will be disparaged if her lips remain plain or her lashes lack the necessary coat of mascara, that caterpillar thickness.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 31 Aug. 2026
  • His disparaging remarks about Muslims, transgender people and others drew outrage from many who argued the racist and hateful language was an attempt to stoke tensions on campus and should not be platformed by colleges and universities.
    — Eduardo Cuevas, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of disparage
Verb
  • Trump’s preference for immediate gratification explains many of his decisions, including defunding scientific and medical research, accelerating fossil-fuel emissions, and denigrating American soft power globally.
    — Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Newsom’s film speaks directly to harm inflicted on young women who are routinely denigrated on social media and who face constant scrutiny of their appearance and comportment through online platforms.
    — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of denigrate
Verb
  • The elastic insult is meant to belittle the target as inauthentic, attention-hungry, unserious, and unmanly.
    — Erik Forrest Jackson, The Atlantic, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Even the teammate who bestowed a belittling nickname upon him can’t wrap his head around Messick’s first year in the majors.
    — Zack Meisel, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of belittle

Browse Nearby Words

badly
bad-mouth
bad-mouthed
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Bad-mouth.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bad-mouth. Accessed 17 Sep. 2026.

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