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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Her coach Cheryl Reeve was later suspended after postgame comments criticizing the officiating in that game.—
Kevin Dotson,
CNN Money,
4 Oct. 2025
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Trump has also spoken at length about his concerns about the New York City mayoral race, criticizing the potential election of progressive candidate Zohran Mamdani, who drew national attention for beating former Governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary.—
Peter Aitken,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In the wake of the assassination of prominent conservative figure Charlie Kirk, the rhetoric wars have taken to new levels of vitriol, with many on the right blaming the left writ large for such political violence, and vice versa.—
Kayla Dwyer,
IndyStar,
1 Oct. 2025
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Both parties are blaming each other, though a new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll shows that more Americans hold Republicans responsible for the impasse.—
Rachel Treisman,
NPR,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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But rather than denouncing the use of synthetic actors, many executives are choosing to tout the irreplaceability of human performers.—
Tatiana Siegel,
Variety,
30 Sep. 2025
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In June, a young Cuban reporter named Delia Proenza published an article and a video denouncing the country’s penuries.—
Jon Lee Anderson,
New Yorker,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Senior network executives rebuked Dokoupil in front of staff over an interview with author Ta-Nehisi Coates, accusing him of not adhering to the network’s editorial norms.—
Tatiana Siegel,
Variety,
7 Oct. 2025
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Fans across the globe are now accusing her of using AI in her promotional videos, which were released in the form of a scavenger hunt on Google this weekend.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Sprague, who took over as CEO in January, took a far more aggressive stance in an exclusive interview with The Athletic on Wednesday, condemning the behavior of those fans at Bethpage.—
Brody Miller,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
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Melissa Barrera, Nicholas Alexander Chavez, Lukas Gage, Mara Wilson and Toni Colette were among the stars condemning the news of Norwood’s possible signing.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Impugning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impugning. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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