bad-mouthing 1 of 2

noun

as in disparagement

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bad-mouthing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of bad-mouth
as in dismissing
to express scornfully one's low opinion of she promptly bad-mouthed that awful movie to everyone she knew

Synonyms & Similar Words

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-mouthing
Verb
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 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bad-mouthing
  1. disparagement
  2. dismissing
  3. criticism
  4. minimizing
  5. vilification
  6. criticizing
  7. belittlement
  8. diminishing
Noun
  • Asserting claims for tortious interference, civil conspiracy, commercial disparagement and violations of Illinois consumer fraud laws, the Butlers sought more than $50 million in compensatory damages and over $200 million in punitive damages.
    — Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 22 June 2026
  • These disparagements cut to the core of southern manhood.
    — Rob Wolfe, The Atlantic, 5 June 2026
Definition of disparagement
Verb
  • The two commissioners selected by congressional Democrats, Chairman Thomas Hicks and Benjamin Hovland, each received an email dismissing them on July 9.
    — Sarah D. Wire, USA Today, 10 July 2026
  • England went into the Mexico match inspired by having so many factors against them and with a lot of people dismissing their chances of winning the tournament.
    — Carl Anka, New York Times, 10 July 2026
Definition of dismissing
Noun
  • The latest appearance will do little to quell criticism of Infantino, who is standing currently unopposed for re-election as FIFA president.
    — Adam Crafton, New York Times, 18 July 2026
  • On top of that, Saka downplayed all the criticisms of Tuchel coming into Saturday’s match.
    — Jacob Lev, CNN Money, 18 July 2026
Definition of criticism
Verb
  • Autonomous ocean mining The Eureka Collection System is an autonomous underwater mining platform designed to selectively harvest polymetallic nodules from the deep ocean while minimizing environmental impact.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 15 July 2026
  • Operating in a 24/7/365 retail environment meant that minimizing business disruption was critical.
    — Scharon Harding, ArsTechnica, 15 July 2026
Definition of minimizing
Noun
  • His one talent was his ability to foresee that the vilification of ambitious and successful people might lead to the political mass resentment and hatred for such individuals.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 9 July 2026
  • As vilification of the Founders and the Revolution became more common, both in academia and in society at large, Wood functioned as part elder statesman and part lightning rod.
    — Craig Bruce Smith, The Atlantic, 9 June 2026
Definition of vilification
Verb
  • After the comments section was flooded with messages from Instagram users criticizing the timing of the post, Kim added an additional comment with an explanation.
    — Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 17 July 2026
  • The standoff follows a broader White House campaign criticizing Smithsonian exhibitions and historical framing, while Secretary Lonnie G.
    — George Nelson, ARTnews.com, 15 July 2026
Definition of criticizing
Noun
  • During Season 10, a newly confident Batula — who seemed to despise Cooke from the first minute of the premiere episode — appeared to be poised to launch a triumphant post-divorce arc, free at last from Cooke’s belittlement and verbal abuse.
    — Kate Aurthur, Variety, 29 June 2026
  • Apolline may embrace the social media aspects of her career but George’s belittlement rankles her.
    — Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor, 14 Aug. 2025
Definition of belittlement
Verb
  • Weakening high pressure to our east is slowly reducing scorching hot temperatures from earlier this week and diminishing the monsoonal moisture that provided unseasonable rain showers and thunderstorms.
    — Sean Macaday, Sacbee.com, 17 July 2026
  • In Miami-Dade, the transit system faces financial woes Aside from diminishing Miami-Dade’s transit ambitions, the Levine Cava plan also highlights the dire financial picture facing mass transit in the county.
    — Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 16 July 2026
Definition of diminishing

Browse Nearby Words

bad-mouthed
bad-mouthing
bad-mouths
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Cite this Entry

“Bad-mouthing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bad-mouthing. Accessed 20 Jul. 2026.

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