as in defamation
the making of false statements that damage another's reputation
the nonstop vilifying had the effect of making some people sympathetic to the victim
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in insulting
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in smearing
to make untrue and harmful statements about
claimed that she had been vilified by the press because of her conservative views
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vilifying
Noun
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In a video missive put out earlier Tuesday, Sharpe attacked Buzbee’s credibility directly and promised to file a defamation lawsuit against the admittedly aggressive attorney and the OnlyFans posting Jane Doe.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
24 Apr. 2025 -
Hov not only sued her for defamation, but also her attorney Tony Buzbee.—
Armon Sadler,
VIBE.com,
24 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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But in March, U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle in Tacoma, Wash., ruled for several long-serving transgender military members who say that the ban is insulting and discriminatory and that their firing would cause lasting damage to their careers and reputations.—
Mark Sherman,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Apr. 2025
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But to suggest that the declining birth rate is largely a function of people not knowing how their bodies work is both insulting and ignorant of the real issue.—
Erica Sloan,
SELF,
23 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Lipstadt became famous—and was later portrayed onscreen by Rachel Weisz—for winning a judgment in a British court against the Holocaust denier David Irving, who had sued her for libel.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
22 Apr. 2025
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In February 2022, U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff rejected Palin's claims in a ruling issued while a jury deliberated, saying Palin had failed to show that the Times had acted out of malice, something required in libel lawsuits involving public figures.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
22 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The woman, along with her legal team, painted a picture of a violent man whose abusive cycles included demeaning text messages, physical harm, and threats.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
10 Apr. 2025
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Luck and the university fired coach Troy Taylor last week after ESPN reported that he was twice investigated for his demeaning treatment of staffers — particularly women.—
Michael Nowels,
Mercury News,
1 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The 2023 Economic Report Of The President published in March of 2023 was relatively disparaging of cryptoassets and DLTs.—
Lawrence Wintermeyer,
Forbes,
5 Dec. 2024
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Prior to appearing on Cunningham's show on Monday, Huggins made more disparaging remarks about Xavier.—
Emily DeLetter,
The Enquirer,
10 May 2023
Noun
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Still, the attacks on Lively last year were reminiscent of the successful online vilification of Amber Heard during Johnny Depp’s 2022 Nathan-assisted $50 million defamation case against the Aquaman star.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
21 Apr. 2025
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The vilification of Chinese immigrants led to one of the most shameful laws in American history: the Chinese Exclusion Act.—
Agustina Vergara Cid,
Oc Register,
30 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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In Britain, Musk has called for the release of Tommy Robinson, a far-right extremist who was jailed for 18 months in October for repeating a libelous claim about a Syrian refugee schoolboy attacking girls.—
Kim Hjelmgaard,
USA TODAY,
7 Jan. 2025
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Robinson was sentenced late last year to a year and a half in prison due to violating a court order prohibiting him from repeating libelous allegations about a Syrian refugee, and Musk has been calling for his release.—
Tara Suter,
The Hill,
6 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Poor data quality can provide wrong models and alerts, discrediting predictive monitoring.—
Hrushikesh Deshmukh,
Forbes,
24 Feb. 2025
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Johnson released new guidelines for reporting gifts Wednesday after discrediting the investigation.—
Jake Sheridan,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Feb. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Vilifying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vilifying. Accessed 3 May. 2025.
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