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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After the 2020 election, Fox took her off the air because her promotion of the false contention Dominion voting machines rigged the election against Trump became part of its $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox. Pirro and Martin are not the only dubious department appointees.—
Carl Leubsdorf,
Mercury News,
16 May 2025 -
Baldoni, 41, denied the claims, filing a $400 million countersuit of his own, accusing Lively and others of defamation and extortion.—
Jen Juneau,
People.com,
15 May 2025
Adjective
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The idea that women need to be properly taught how to conceive a child through a government program is a particularly insulting proposal, says Reshma Saujani, the founder and CEO of Moms First.—
Stephanie McNeal,
Glamour,
22 Apr. 2025
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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
Noun
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Baldoni then filed a $250 million libel lawsuit against The New York Times for its bombshell exposé into Lively’s claims.—
Karu F. Daniels,
New York Daily News,
10 May 2025
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Early criticism of the Wayfarer-Lively case compared the proceedings to the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard libel suit in 2022.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
29 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Here’s hoping that the rude and demeaning comments Kardashian received don't discourage her—or other celebrity parents—from sharing their breastfeeding journeys.—
Melissa Willets,
Parents,
5 May 2025
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Her caricature-like depictions of blonde bombshells and sorority girls poke fun at the demeaning stereotypes and labels ascribed to women.—
Jessica Ourisman,
Forbes.com,
11 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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For all the vilification he’s unfairly endured from the mayor and Pacione-Zayas, Martinez is an accredited school superintendent.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
7 May 2025
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After President Donald Trump signed a slew of executive orders to reduce crime on his first day in office, one expert with nearly three decades of law enforcement experience said the days of police vilification are over.—
Peter D'Abrosca,
FOXNews.com,
23 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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In recent weeks, though, her group has doubled in size, and while in the past there were only two or three posts per day, Mitchell and her new moderators now have to wade through 60-plus comments ranging from helpful to libelous.—
Brenna Ehrlich,
Rolling Stone,
25 Apr. 2025
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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
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 23 May. 2025.
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