as in criticizing
formal
to criticize (a person's character, intentions, etc.) by suggesting that someone is not honest and should not be trusted
He impugned his rival's character. Her motives have been scrutinized and impugned.
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Recent Examples of impugning
Ehlers’ duty as a public official includes upholding and respecting the legal process, not impugning it.
—
U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Sep. 2025
U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impugning
Verb
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Bass defended her administration’s handling of homelessness, pointing to declining homelessness counts and the city’s Inside Safe program, while criticizing Raman’s record on police hiring and past votes against some encampment enforcement measures near schools and other sensitive sites.—
Teresa Liu,
Daily News,
8 May 2026
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The spike in the number of homicides that Little Rock experienced following the covid-19 pandemic featured heavily in that race, with Landers criticizing Scott’s record on public safety.—
Joseph Flaherty,
Arkansas Online,
8 May 2026
Verb
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Medicare fraud has become a hot political topic, with Republicans and Democrats each blaming the other party for the problem.—
Kerry Breen,
CBS News,
14 May 2026
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The Newsom administration estimates that thousands of victims of the Los Angeles wildfires cannot afford to rebuild, blaming a lack of access to affordable loans and a gap between insurance payouts and the cost to build again.—
Taryn Luna,
Los Angeles Times,
13 May 2026
Verb
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After the vote, Commissioner Zach Lindstrom thanked At Chandee's supporters for sharing his story while denouncing the current presidential administration for locking him up.—
Jeff Wagner,
CBS News,
2 May 2026
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In response to The Star’s inquiry, Sarnecki provided a statement denouncing 7-OH and kratom.—
Matthew Kelly
May 1,
Kansas City Star,
1 May 2026
Verb
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Spain has been critical of Russia’s war in Ukraine and of Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon, and has backed the South African case at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide.—
Ishaan Tharoor,
New Yorker,
13 May 2026
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Musk is currently embroiled in a court battle against OpenAI, accusing CEO Sam Altman and Greg Brockman of abandoning the company’s original nonprofit creed of developing open-source AI to benefit humans by turning it into a for-profit entity.—
Sasha Rogelberg,
Fortune,
13 May 2026
Verb
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The leaders of other political parties joined Jetten in condemning the attacks.—
Molly Quell,
Los Angeles Times,
8 May 2026
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The pope has often called for peace and unity, condemning violence and war.—
Emily Guskin,
ABC News,
6 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Impugning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impugning. Accessed 15 May. 2026.
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