as in libeled
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of maligned
Even the scenes in the endlessly maligned New York City (played at least partially by Fort Worth, Texas) look beautiful, undermining the nightmarish declarations of Sheridan’s scripts.
—
Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 13 Mar. 2026
Yeezy representative Milo Yiannopoulos maligned him and our firm in the press.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 11 Mar. 2026
Journalists related stories to Brown of the future princess giving them the slip, joking with them, managing her media relations so she wouldn’t be overexposed or maligned.
—Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 23 Feb. 2026
The company argued that the rules unfairly maligned its products, because nuts are too high in fat to qualify as healthy.
—Nicholas Florko, The Atlantic, 22 Feb. 2026
And though Milan’s Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena has been much maligned, for barely being ready in time for the hockey tournament, its acoustics met the moment.
—Sean Gregory, Time, 20 Feb. 2026
Is Spider-Man 3 fairly or unfairly maligned?
—James Grebey, Vulture, 31 Jan. 2026
Texas has been maligned for its lack of bench production this season, but Lassina Traore, Chendall Weaver and Simeon Wilcher have all been on the court during this decisive late run.
—Thomas Jones, Austin American Statesman, 31 Jan. 2026
While leopard print has long been everywhere, and cow and deer print are experiencing somewhat of a revival, tiger stripes feel much more maligned.
—Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 29 Jan. 2026
Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 13 Mar. 2026
Yeezy representative Milo Yiannopoulos maligned him and our firm in the press.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 11 Mar. 2026
Journalists related stories to Brown of the future princess giving them the slip, joking with them, managing her media relations so she wouldn’t be overexposed or maligned.
—Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 23 Feb. 2026
The company argued that the rules unfairly maligned its products, because nuts are too high in fat to qualify as healthy.
—Nicholas Florko, The Atlantic, 22 Feb. 2026
And though Milan’s Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena has been much maligned, for barely being ready in time for the hockey tournament, its acoustics met the moment.
—Sean Gregory, Time, 20 Feb. 2026
Is Spider-Man 3 fairly or unfairly maligned?
—James Grebey, Vulture, 31 Jan. 2026
Texas has been maligned for its lack of bench production this season, but Lassina Traore, Chendall Weaver and Simeon Wilcher have all been on the court during this decisive late run.
—Thomas Jones, Austin American Statesman, 31 Jan. 2026
While leopard print has long been everywhere, and cow and deer print are experiencing somewhat of a revival, tiger stripes feel much more maligned.
—Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 29 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for maligned
Verb
-
Grainy mustard smeared on a chunk of corned beef is delicious too.—
Tribune Content Agency,
Baltimore Sun,
4 Mar. 2026
-
Cops called to the scene found blood smeared on the stairwell from the third floor to the second, and more blood smeared on the walls in the second-floor hallway.—
Rebecca White,
New York Daily News,
28 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
In the fight to save Wikie and Keijo, the idea of a sanctuary is the enemy of the existing marine park — both options are still captivity, yet one is romanticized and one vilified — and more importantly one form is a fantasy, the other a reality.—
Valerie Greene,
The Orlando Sentinel,
14 Mar. 2026
-
My whole life, they had been vilified by my mom’s side of the family.—
Jennifer Wolfgram,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
At one point in his teenage years, Diaz was publicly humiliated by the football team who forcefully shaved his curly hair.—
Andrea Flores,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Mar. 2026
-
Walz and Ellison were humiliated and could not account for their blundering.—
Joe Soucheray,
Twin Cities,
7 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Radcliffe plays Arthur, a documentary filmmaker hired by Morgan’s disgraced former football player, Reggie, to make a The Last Dance–style documentary and facilitate Reggie’s comeback.—
Eliana Dockterman,
Time,
5 Mar. 2026
-
The war is already disgraced by a monumental tragedy at the outset.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
2 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Now, the ultimate question of whether Walters slandered Miller will return to the district court.—
Dale Denwalt,
Oklahoman,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Jerry Jones slandered my name to Cowboys media and national media for months.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
1 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Election experts widely discredited the review as shoddy and partisan.—
Benjamin Swasey,
NPR,
9 Mar. 2026
-
After storms and flooding across Spain, Poland and the United States in late 2024, Moscow worked to claim that support for Ukraine had left countries vulnerable, stoked grievances in NATO countries and discredited Western democracies.—
Michael Chertoff,
The Orlando Sentinel,
4 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Maligned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/maligned. Accessed 21 Mar. 2026.
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