as in to libel
to make untrue and harmful statements about
the short-lived Sedition Act of 1798 made it illegal to calumniate the President of the United States
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in defamation
the making of false statements that damage another's reputation
his campaign's reliance on calumniation seems out of keeping with his claim that he's a new kind of politician
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for calumniate
Verb
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In 2022, Manhattan Federal Judge Jed Rakoff, who presided over both trials, decided The Times was not liable for defamation while jurors were deliberating, that the error amounted to unfortunate editorializing but not libel.—
Molly Crane-Newman,
New York Daily News,
22 Apr. 2025 -
As a new, inexpensive Chevrolet appeared in 1927 and The Dearborn Independent was sued for libeling a number of Jewish businessmen, Ford threw in the towel and apologized.—
George Pendle,
airmail.news,
15 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Trump has repeatedly denied writing the letter and sued the Wall Street Journal, which was first to report on the letter, for defamation.—
Nik Popli,
Time,
9 Sep. 2025
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Trump has repeatedly denied writing any such letter and is suing the Journal’s parent company, publisher, reporters and owner Rupert Murdoch for $10 billion in a defamation lawsuit filed in the Southern District of Florida.—
Emily Goodin,
Miami Herald,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Rubbing will smear the mud and cause a bigger problem.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
6 Sep. 2025
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Jason’s windshield was smeared, and the late-afternoon sunlight came through hazily.—
Akhil Sharma,
New Yorker,
28 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The Sermon on the ‘Mount episode also represented, amid the resulting furor on the right, a canny announcement that the collected calumnies of creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone are finally available on the Paramount Plus streaming service, after years licensed on Warner Bros.—
David Bloom,
Forbes.com,
28 July 2025
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That’s when his ugly-American calumny turned to blather.—
Armond White,
National Review,
28 May 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Calumniate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/calumniate. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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