as in to dismiss
to express scornfully one's low opinion of
she promptly bad-mouthed that awful movie to everyone she knew
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Recent Examples of bad-mouth
At one point, Brown stepped away from the set, and co-stars Antoni Porowski, Tan France and Jonathan van Ness began bad-mouthing him behind his back, while his mom heard the whole conversation, according to TMZ.
—
Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 21 Jan. 2026
Most of the people who were bad-mouthing Titanic had not seen so much as a minute of film.
—Stacy Lambe, PEOPLE, 22 Oct. 2025
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
The neighbor's negative response—bad-mouthing OP to others—reflects an entitlement mindset, Sprowl noted.
—Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 24 Jan. 2025
The vulnerable Mayfair he’s sent to woo is new character Moira, who’s been getting on everybody’s nerves by bad-mouthing Lasher for second-degree murdering her sister Tessa.
—Kathleen Walsh, Vulture, 5 Jan. 2025
Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 21 Jan. 2026
Most of the people who were bad-mouthing Titanic had not seen so much as a minute of film.
—Stacy Lambe, PEOPLE, 22 Oct. 2025
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
The neighbor's negative response—bad-mouthing OP to others—reflects an entitlement mindset, Sprowl noted.
—Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 24 Jan. 2025
The vulnerable Mayfair he’s sent to woo is new character Moira, who’s been getting on everybody’s nerves by bad-mouthing Lasher for second-degree murdering her sister Tessa.
—Kathleen Walsh, Vulture, 5 Jan. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bad-mouth
Verb
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But in the motion to dismiss, McCallum said the shooter did not touch the railing.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
9 Apr. 2026
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The deal dismissed charges of first-degree murder, tampering with a human body, burglary and theft from his case.—
Lauren Penington,
Denver Post,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
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If moving the plant is absolutely necessary, wait for a series of cool and rainy days to minimize transplant shock.—
Heather Bien,
Southern Living,
5 Apr. 2026
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The best tool for minimizing false positives in the field is to give officers more accurate, electronic testing devices, the Roadside Drug Test Innocence Alliance said.—
Holly Yan,
CNN Money,
5 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Benjamin Rush, a Founding Father and a physician, criticized the medical establishment for being closed-minded about treatments recommended by non-physicians.—
Dhruv Khullar,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
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Glendon Hall, who leads the Miami Beach Black Affairs Advisory Committee, criticized the police at the time.—
Aaron Leibowitz,
Miami Herald,
6 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Panini currently holds licenses for those four federations, continuing the ongoing trend of Fanatics winning licenses, which diminishes Panini’s portfolio.—
Larry Holder,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
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Competing Colors One painting mistake that will diminish the appearance of even the nicest new kitchen is not thoughtfully considering how your cabinet or wall color will coordinate with other elements in the room.—
Sarah Lyon,
The Spruce,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Trump has long disparaged NATO and sought to get other members of the alliance to boost their defense spending.—
Michael Loria,
USA Today,
1 Apr. 2026
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The sewer label was initially a disparaging remark from a Socialist leader, who thought figures like Hoan were overly practical, boasting about their sanitation systems instead of political theory.—
Hope Karnopp,
jsonline.com,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Trump tapped into that sentiment again in his Telegraph interview, denigrating the Royal Navy as not up to the task.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
1 Apr. 2026
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The epitome of narcissism, demeaning and denigrating others upon their deaths (John McCain, Rob Reiner) who’ve displeased him is nothing new, but the Mueller post sinks to a new low.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Dear Coop Community, At a recent general meeting, a member was allowed to belittle and vilify fellow members who signed the petition opposing the Israeli government’s escalating mistreatment of the Palestinian people.—
Christine Smallwood,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
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The ruthlessness of the producers cutting folk off mid-speech or retracting the microphone and upping the music volume was belittling to those on stage.—
Baz Bamigboye,
Deadline,
16 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bad-mouth.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bad-mouth. Accessed 13 Apr. 2026.
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