as in slander
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Recent Examples of backbiting
Sadly, Sister Wives has really become an experience of criticism and backbiting.
—
Liza Esquibias, PEOPLE, 28 Sep. 2025
The industry functions on a delicate infrastructure of intimidation, backbiting, and the occasional contract amid endless favors, yanking Aasmaan through its machinations like a rag doll in the wind.
—Proma Khosla, IndieWire, 19 Sep. 2025
The Girlfriend does not pretend all of this plotting and backbiting isn’t soapy nonsense.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2025
The depictions of the New York literati scene, with its backbiting and wary camaraderie, are effective but all too brief.
—Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor, 3 Apr. 2025
Liza Esquibias, PEOPLE, 28 Sep. 2025
The industry functions on a delicate infrastructure of intimidation, backbiting, and the occasional contract amid endless favors, yanking Aasmaan through its machinations like a rag doll in the wind.
—Proma Khosla, IndieWire, 19 Sep. 2025
The Girlfriend does not pretend all of this plotting and backbiting isn’t soapy nonsense.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2025
The depictions of the New York literati scene, with its backbiting and wary camaraderie, are effective but all too brief.
—Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor, 3 Apr. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for backbiting
Noun
-
And always these massacres were preceded by vilification, by slanders.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
10 May 2026
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But that wasn’t the only Scheshu slander on Vanderpump Villa season 3.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
19 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Pratt was just another angry New Yorker hectoring calumnies against all forms of authority.—
Kory Grow,
Rolling Stone,
14 May 2026
-
The declaration also highlights the need to report facts, not suppress or falsify information, and avoid discrimination, bribery, and calumny.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
11 May 2026
Noun
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Repeatedly, these men fail, largely because posts like Rajala’s are considered opinions protected by the First Amendment and defamation laws in states like Illinois.—
Ashley Belanger,
ArsTechnica,
18 May 2026
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Baldoni, 42, denied her claims and filed a countersuit accusing Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, of defamation, igniting a public back-and-forth that was set to culminate in a federal trial beginning May 18.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
16 May 2026
Noun
-
Baldoni filed a libel lawsuit against the Times on December 31, 2024.—
Victoria Bekiempis,
Vulture,
4 May 2026
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The judge also dismissed a libel suit Baldoni filed against the New York Times.—
Nicki Brown,
CNN Money,
4 May 2026
Noun
-
And always these massacres were preceded by vilification, by slanders.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
10 May 2026
-
Kim’s vilification of the South has been a major setback for Seoul’s liberal government, which desires reengagement and has taken preemptive steps to ease tensions, including shutting down propaganda broadcasts along the border.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
7 May 2026
Noun
-
The contract contained a non-disparagement clause, and in law, the special thing about disparagement is that unlike defamation, the truth is not a defense against disparagement.—
Marlow Stern,
Variety,
28 Apr. 2026
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And the Times Magazine suggested the idea of discovering a similar past disparagement clause to the one that plagued HBO might dissuade any network from tackling a future Jackson project.—
Steve Knopper,
Rolling Stone,
22 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Amid aspersions and attack ads, the pair nearly came to blows at a community debate.—
Dakota Smith,
Los Angeles Times,
11 May 2026
-
Not Calvin Klein casting gay aspersions!—
Emma Specter,
Vogue,
19 Feb. 2026
Noun
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For me, this marks an early moment in the denigration of women.—
Eana Kim,
ARTnews.com,
27 Apr. 2026
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Nowhere is there the vitriol or denigration found in MAGA gatherings.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
1 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Backbiting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backbiting. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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