as in smeared
to make untrue and harmful statements about
a candidate who believes that it is possible to win an election without maligning anyone
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Recent Examples of maligned
Thibodeau has been unfairly maligned for his hard-driving approach to the game.
—
Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Oct. 2025
The Carolina Panthers’ much maligned 2023 draft class took another hit on Tuesday.
—Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 30 Sep. 2025
Kennedy's rhetoric on autism has been embraced by some corners of the autism community and maligned in others.
—Zac Anderson, USA Today, 22 Sep. 2025
In other past social media posts, Kirk maligned hate speech as a weapon that liberals used to punish conservatives for their free speech.
—Ross O'Keefe, The Washington Examiner, 18 Sep. 2025
The dam broke Saturday night for the Dodgers’ maligned offense, even with Logan Webb pitching.
—Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2025
In addition to political persecution, returning Venezuelans would reenter a country teetering on collapse—maligned by hyperinflation, soaring unemployment, rampant crime, frequent power outages, water shortages and chronic scarcities of food and medicine.
—Antonio Maria Delgado, Miami Herald, 3 Sep. 2025
The conference was maligned all year and played down to its reputation with only four total bids and just one team advancing to the Sweet 16.
—Jon Wilner, Mercury News, 31 Mar. 2025
Much of black metal has typically maligned Christianity and other institutional religions, and some practitioners took parts in Norwegian church burnings in the 1990s.
—Mikal Gilmore, Rolling Stone, 30 Mar. 2025
Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Oct. 2025
The Carolina Panthers’ much maligned 2023 draft class took another hit on Tuesday.
—Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 30 Sep. 2025
Kennedy's rhetoric on autism has been embraced by some corners of the autism community and maligned in others.
—Zac Anderson, USA Today, 22 Sep. 2025
In other past social media posts, Kirk maligned hate speech as a weapon that liberals used to punish conservatives for their free speech.
—Ross O'Keefe, The Washington Examiner, 18 Sep. 2025
The dam broke Saturday night for the Dodgers’ maligned offense, even with Logan Webb pitching.
—Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2025
In addition to political persecution, returning Venezuelans would reenter a country teetering on collapse—maligned by hyperinflation, soaring unemployment, rampant crime, frequent power outages, water shortages and chronic scarcities of food and medicine.
—Antonio Maria Delgado, Miami Herald, 3 Sep. 2025
The conference was maligned all year and played down to its reputation with only four total bids and just one team advancing to the Sweet 16.
—Jon Wilner, Mercury News, 31 Mar. 2025
Much of black metal has typically maligned Christianity and other institutional religions, and some practitioners took parts in Norwegian church burnings in the 1990s.
—Mikal Gilmore, Rolling Stone, 30 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for maligned
Verb
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Blood was smeared throughout the business.—
Grethel Aguila,
Miami Herald,
30 Sep. 2025
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Shohreh Dupuis left her job as city manager of Laguna Beach two years ago, in the wake of a squabble with a city council member, a threat of a harassment lawsuit, and an inquiry into into how her house came to be smeared with feces.—
Michael Slaten,
Oc Register,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
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She is being held at the same facility as disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, who was sentenced to 11 years and 3 months in prison for defrauding investors with her medical startup.—
Lynsey Eidell,
PEOPLE,
18 Sep. 2025
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An excessive force lawsuit against a former San Jose cop disgraced by a racist texting scandal is set to resume, after a federal court ruling last week affirmed the ex-officer is not shielded from litigation in his controversial 2022 shooting of an aspiring college football player.—
Robert Salonga,
Mercury News,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Cleopatra, who was respected in Egypt but vilified in Roman accounts, promoted the cult of Isis and Osiris, and artifacts from her rule have been found at the site.—
Andrea Margolis,
FOXNews.com,
26 Sep. 2025
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While Sandu’s leadership has won her admiration in Brussels, she has been vilified by the Kremlin.—
Christian Edwards,
CNN Money,
26 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Sitting in class next to a star athlete destined for Division I football, the future comedy mogul listened as his teacher publicly humiliated him in front of his peers.—
Essence,
Essence,
2 Oct. 2025
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Is he humiliated by being asked to leave surreptitiously for Olivia’s amusement, or is this a game for him too?—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
26 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Dearborn has often been slandered for simply coexisting peacefully, because the truth is, some people are uncomfortable, and frankly upset about seeing church steeples and mosque domes share the same skyline on roads.—
Niraj Warikoo,
Freep.com,
24 Sep. 2025
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Moreno calls accusations ‘slander’ In a statement provided to The Bee, Moreno denied the accusations and said she was being slandered.—
Nicole Nixon,
Sacbee.com,
9 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Over time, as research increasingly pointed to genetics as a major factor in autism, the theory was discredited.—
Juliana Kim,
NPR,
26 Sep. 2025
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But many climate scientists have discredited this argument, saying that freezing events can take place even amid climate change—but as time goes on, those cold events will happen less often and won’t last as long.—
Chantelle Lee,
Time,
23 Sep. 2025
Verb
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MyPillow founder Mike Lindell defamed the election technology company Smartmatic with false statements that its voting machines helped rig the 2020 presidential election, a federal judge in Minnesota ruled Friday.—
Steve Karnowski,
Twin Cities,
29 Sep. 2025
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That leaves only the claim that he was defamed.—
Stephen L. Carter,
Mercury News,
19 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Maligned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/maligned. Accessed 10 Oct. 2025.
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