as in erroneous
causing or intended to cause unjust injury to a person's good name
a calumnious campaign ad that went well beyond the negativity to which voters had become so richly accustomed
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for calumnious
Adjective
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When the news breaks of faraway civilian casualties — an erroneous air strike on a school that relied on outdated intelligence, for example — the mind takes refuge in abstractions and statistics.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Apr. 2026 -
But those who in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries made erroneous predictions of imminent mass starvation erred by underestimating the world‑changing potential of grasses.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Breuer also accused Moore of using a Jan. 26 news conference, four days after the building was evacuated, to spread falsehoods about the company, which Breuer said could be deemed libelous.—
Drake Bentley,
jsonline.com,
5 Mar. 2026
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In recent weeks, though, her group has doubled in size, and while in the past there were only two or three posts per day, Mitchell and her new moderators now have to wade through 60-plus comments ranging from helpful to libelous.—
Brenna Ehrlich,
Rolling Stone,
25 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The group’s ads on his past felony bank fraud charges were decried by Ford as slanderous.—
Alice Yin,
Chicago Tribune,
18 Mar. 2026
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Keefer called these claims baseless and slanderous.—
Bradley Hohulin,
IndyStar,
8 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Judge Gayles, however, did not rule on the veracity of the Journal’s article or whether the facts in it are true and therefore not defamatory toward the president; attorneys for the paper and Murdoch had sought such a determination and for the case to be thrown out entirely.—
Kevin Dolak,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Apr. 2026
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Responding to the lawsuit, Meiner said the filing contains inaccuracies and suggested the statements at issue could be defamatory.—
Abby Dodge,
CBS News,
24 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Known for its screeching headlines, up-to-the-second scoops, and contentious practice of paying off sources for scandalous tips, the tabloid has widened its pitiless lens to include officials across the political spectrum.—
Paula Mejía,
New Yorker,
15 Apr. 2026
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Elizabeth Taylor married eight times, but the most scandalous may have been her wedding to fourth husband Eddie Fisher on May 12, 1959.—
Savannah Walsh,
Vanity Fair,
13 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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For me, the possible false note lay not in Aramayo’s performance but in the script.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
17 Apr. 2026
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Local police too, have stated that false posts circulating in WhatsApp groups, including claims of worker deaths and exaggerated reports of violence and arrests, have contributed to the escalation of unrest.—
Mayu Saini,
Footwear News,
17 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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County officials also said Freidenrich’s management of the treasurer’s office led to delays in issuing refunds to schools, filing tax liens and cashing property tax checks, which resulted in incorrect late fees and penalties for taxpayers.—
Claire Wang,
Oc Register,
15 Apr. 2026
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Any assertion that city single-family homeowners are being double taxed would be incorrect.—
U T Readers,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Apr. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Calumnious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/calumnious. Accessed 18 Apr. 2026.
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