cast aspersions

idiom

formal
: to say harsh critical things about someone or someone's character
He tried to discuss his political opponents respectfully, without casting aspersions.

Examples of cast aspersions in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The yearly circus of the Academy Awards is easy to cast aspersions on. Fran Hoepfner, The Atlantic, 6 Mar. 2024 As Haley’s prominence has grown, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, once viewed as the top Republican challenger to Trump, and his allies have attacked the former ambassador as beholden to Wall Street, questioned her conservative bona fides and cast aspersions about her tenure as governor. Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 4 Jan. 2024 Authorities ramped up internet controls, scrubbing anything that cast aspersions on the party and its leader. Time, 16 June 2023 But sources familiar with the ongoing legal battle between the two cast aspersions on Jolie for allegedly seeking to have this document publicized via FOIPA. Diana Dasrath, NBC News, 17 Aug. 2022 First of all, the document is likely to be released prior to the 2022 midterm elections, enabling traditionalists to cast aspersions on Democratic Catholic political figures—among others, Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House, and Representative Ted Lieu, both California liberals. Paul Elie, The New Yorker, 22 June 2021 That drew a sharp rebuke from Nelson, who asked that Torres Ray's remarks be stricken from the record, noting that Senate rules of decorum that say members should not cast aspersions on the motives of their colleagues during debates. Steve Karnowski, Star Tribune, 18 Feb. 2021 Anne’s alleged adultery cast aspersions on Henry’s masculinity, suggesting that the king was unable to fulfill his marital duties. Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Oct. 2020 State Republican leaders aren’t all quite on the same page regarding how to talk about mail-in voting before an election that’s likely to rely heavily on the option as President Trump continues to cast aspersions on the method. Emily Larsen, Washington Examiner, 28 Aug. 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cast aspersions.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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Cite this Entry

“Cast aspersions.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cast%20aspersions. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

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