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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The charges of using a computer to commit a crime and interfering with a telecommunications device were dismissed, according to prosecutors.—
DeJanay Booth-Singleton,
CBS News,
11 June 2026
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In January 2021, Erickson was charged with one misdemeanor count of reckless driving, but the charge was later dismissed, his lawyer Mark Werksman told The New York Times.—
Madison E. Goldberg,
PEOPLE,
11 June 2026
Verb
-
Protect your mower by minimizing grass buildup with these 4 tips.—
Megan Hughes,
Better Homes & Gardens,
6 June 2026
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His medical team also worked carefully to minimize the emotional challenges that could accompany the process.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
PEOPLE,
6 June 2026
Verb
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Raman wasn’t endorsed by any of her colleagues on the City Council, and she has been criticized by some community leaders in her district for not paying close enough attention to their concerns.—
Noah Goldberg,
Los Angeles Times,
8 June 2026
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The Grand Prix has been criticized as a processional where Saturday hot laps decide the result.—
Sahil Kapur,
NBC news,
7 June 2026
Verb
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While those shortfalls are diminishing, any sudden expenses, including those caused by factors outside of the city’s control, could quickly add to that burden.—
Ryan Macasero,
Mercury News,
10 June 2026
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None of that diminishes anything for each of the 1,248 players who will participate.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 June 2026
Verb
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Many of these Catholic newcomers, fleeing famine and persecution, were disparaged as poor, illiterate and superstitious.—
Matthew Smith,
The Conversation,
8 June 2026
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The county civil grand jury concluded the school board canceled the contract based on a misrepresentation of the facts, failed to act in students’ best interest, disparaged the school community and took actions that were supposed to be handled by district staff.—
Jemma Stephenson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 June 2026
Verb
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As a result, the neo-Brandeisian network played an important role in promoting Lynn’s allies and denigrating competing candidates.—
Jonathan Chait,
The Atlantic,
26 May 2026
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Anyway, there was a tendency by some people to focus on a person and deify them and denigrate the others.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
17 May 2026
Verb
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People are constantly trying to belittle you.—
Paul Tenorio,
New York Times,
3 June 2026
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The remark was meant to be an insult, belittling a company that seemed to care more about hardware profit margins than design and innovation.—
Janko Roettgers,
The Verge,
28 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bad-mouth.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bad-mouth. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.
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