as in attack dog
one who makes harsh, personal attacks against opponents a local hot-button issue that has turned some normally mild-mannered neighbors into letter-writing mudslingers

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of mudslinger Social media platforms were a critical battleground during the campaign, with political mudslingers waging cyberwar with few legal constraints after the government failed to act on calls for a new law to protect democracy in the internet age. Washington Post, 12 Dec. 2019 In 2010, when the group launched ahead of Barack Obama’s reelection campaign, Brock had imposed a set of self-regulations on the staff that would cultivate an air of respectability for the mudslingers. Gabriel Debenedetti, Daily Intelligencer, 20 May 2018 What must be almost the last charge of this decimated brigade of mudslingers approaches again, carrying with them like a Kathy Griffin icon the utter imbecility of the Steele accusations. Conrad Black, National Review, 11 Oct. 2017 If that lady is a 101-year-old movie legend, any would-be mudslingers best take care, her attorney said this week. Christie D'zurilla, latimes.com, 2 Sep. 2017 He isn’t known as a dogface solider boy or mudslinger in South Miami. Alex Butler, miamiherald, 28 Apr. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mudslinger
Noun
  • Who is Brendan Carr? Carr is a long-serving member of the FCC who has become an increasingly visible attack dog for the Trump administration this year.
    Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 18 Sep. 2025
  • Pulte, who was appointed to lead the FHFA by Trump, has acted as an attack dog on the president’s behalf against the Fed, Fed Chair Jerome Powell and Cook in recent weeks.
    Dan Mangan, CNBC, 29 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • The renowned shark scientist encountered the Galapagos shark while conducting scientific research on Coconut Island as part of the One Ocean Worldwide Coalition, according to a news release shared on Facebook by the For The Oceans Foundation.
    Abigail Adams, PEOPLE, 30 Sep. 2025
  • While the scientists found that catastrophic injuries could still occur, all four materials were found to lessen damage from shark bites.
    Brie Stimson, FOXNews.com, 28 Sep. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Mudslinger.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mudslinger. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!