as in libel
the making of false statements that damage another's reputation
a blogger whose site is little more than a foulmouthed forum for calumny and rumormongering
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Recent Examples of calumny
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
That’s when his ugly-American calumny turned to blather.
—Armond White, National Review, 28 May 2025
That brings us to the other calumnies Vance and Trump have directed at the Haitians in Springfield.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2024
Within Israel, though, the ICJ case is seen by most as a calumny that only proves antisemitism’s enduring nature.
—Marc Champion, Twin Cities, 21 Jan. 2024
For years, the British government maintained that the dead were combatants and that some of them belonged to the I.R.A.
To family members, this was a calumny that for decades shadowed their lives.
—David Segal, New York Times, 13 Oct. 2023
Claiming otherwise is a despicable calumny.
—James Freeman, WSJ, 25 May 2021
David Bloom, Forbes.com, 28 July 2025
That’s when his ugly-American calumny turned to blather.
—Armond White, National Review, 28 May 2025
That brings us to the other calumnies Vance and Trump have directed at the Haitians in Springfield.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2024
Within Israel, though, the ICJ case is seen by most as a calumny that only proves antisemitism’s enduring nature.
—Marc Champion, Twin Cities, 21 Jan. 2024
For years, the British government maintained that the dead were combatants and that some of them belonged to the I.R.A.
To family members, this was a calumny that for decades shadowed their lives.
—David Segal, New York Times, 13 Oct. 2023
Claiming otherwise is a despicable calumny.
—James Freeman, WSJ, 25 May 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for calumny
Noun
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McQueen countersued him on several claims as well, including libel, intentional infliction of emotional distress and intentional interference with contractual or business relationships.—
Evan Mealins,
The Tennessean,
10 Sep. 2025
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Bellis later added $473 million in punitive damages, bringing the total libel judgment to $1,436,620,000—believed to be one of the largest in American history.—
Robert Alexander,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Trump has also brought a $10 billion defamation suit against The Wall Street Journal for its article linking him to the Epstein note.—
Anniek Bao,
CNBC,
16 Sep. 2025
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The defamation case has been delayed while the time for an appeal of the underlying claims runs its course.—
Jeff McDonald,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Calumny.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/calumny. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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