calumny
noun
Did you know?
Calumny made an appearance in these famous words from William Shakespeare's Hamlet: "If thou dost marry, I'll give thee this plague for thy dowry: be thou chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny. Get thee to a nunnery, go." The word had been in the English language for a while, though, before Hamlet uttered it. It first entered English in the 15th century and comes from the Middle French word calomnie of the same meaning. Calomnie, in turn, derives from the Latin word calumnia, (meaning "false accusation," "false claim," or "trickery"), which itself traces to the Latin verb calvi, meaning "to deceive."
Examples of calumny in a Sentence
Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2024
This egregious calumny is not, however, attributable solely to the disease of the soul that translates into Republicanism according to Biden.
—The Editors, National Review, 22 May 2024
The bid to excuse Wilson by comparison to his conservative Republican successors is a calumny.
—Dan McLaughlin, National Review, 6 Feb. 2024
Within Israel, though, the ICJ case is seen by most as a calumny that only proves antisemitism’s enduring nature.
—Marc Champion, Twin Cities, 21 Jan. 2024
For years, the British government maintained that the dead were combatants and that some of them belonged to the I.R.A.
To family members, this was a calumny that for decades shadowed their lives.
—David Segal, New York Times, 13 Oct. 2023
Claiming otherwise is a despicable calumny.
—James Freeman, WSJ, 25 May 2021
From the calumny and chaos of John Tyler's presidency to Andrew Johnson's drunken swearing-in, the conduct of several Presidents have been less-than stellar.
—Sydney Walton, CNN, 16 Jan. 2021
The truth exploded a few years into the pontificate of Francis, who, disastrously, chose to believe his bishops over the abused, even accusing victims of calumny.
—New York Times, 28 May 2022
Cite this Entry
“Calumny.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/calumny. Accessed 11 May. 2025.
Copy Citation
Share