as in disparagement
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
as in dismissing
to express scornfully one's low opinion of
she promptly bad-mouthed that awful movie to everyone she knew
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bad-mouthing
Joseph Wilkinson,
New York Daily News,
21 Jan. 2026
Most of the people who were bad-mouthing Titanic had not seen so much as a minute of film.
—
Stacy Lambe,
PEOPLE,
22 Oct. 2025
Ranting on LinkedIn and bad-mouthing your ex-employer or naming and shaming your last negative recruitment experience won’t help you either.
—
Rachel Wells,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
At one point, Brown stepped away from the set, and co-stars Antoni Porowski, Tan France and Jonathan van Ness began bad-mouthing him behind his back, while his mom heard the whole conversation, according to TMZ.
—
Joseph Wilkinson,
New York Daily News,
21 Jan. 2026
Most of the people who were bad-mouthing Titanic had not seen so much as a minute of film.
—
Stacy Lambe,
PEOPLE,
22 Oct. 2025
Ranting on LinkedIn and bad-mouthing your ex-employer or naming and shaming your last negative recruitment experience won’t help you either.
—
Rachel Wells,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bad-mouthing
Noun
-
Asserting claims for tortious interference, civil conspiracy, commercial disparagement and violations of Illinois consumer fraud laws, the Butlers sought more than $50 million in compensatory damages and over $200 million in punitive damages.
-
These disparagements cut to the core of southern manhood.
Verb
-
The program was established by state lawmakers in 2018 as a way to help stem the tide of mental illness in jails and prisons, usually by dismissing cases and offering treatment for the underlying conditions behind a defendant’s arrest.
-
Manchester, for example, was in court for a year after dismissing a contractor from the Parkade redevelopment job, and ended up paying $2 million.
Noun
-
The legislation faced sharp criticism at home and abroad, and thousands of Slovaks repeatedly took to the streets to protest the law.
-
Asked about the greenwashing criticism, a Council spokesperson said companies active in the fossil fuel sector can still contribute to the transition, for example by developing low-carbon fuels or building electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
Verb
-
The end goal should not be minimizing the number of systems per se, but rather making sure those systems can be adjusted and integrated quickly to keep up with changing business demands.
-
Under the former, the priority is to continue providing water and wastewater services while minimizing creditor losses and restructuring the company so a new owner can be found.
Noun
-
As vilification of the Founders and the Revolution became more common, both in academia and in society at large, Wood functioned as part elder statesman and part lightning rod.
-
After defeating Chwalinska in straight sets, Andreeva took time at the end of her acceptance speech to speak Russian, seemingly in defiance of the vilification due to her ethnic heritage by the tennis governing bodies and opposing players.
Verb
-
Acknowledging and even criticizing our mistakes of the past doesn’t cheapen one’s love for the United States.
-
The movie continues its tradition of addressing social issues, this time focusing on human equality and colonial looting, with pointed dialogue criticizing the British Empire.
Noun
-
During Season 10, a newly confident Batula — who seemed to despise Cooke from the first minute of the premiere episode — appeared to be poised to launch a triumphant post-divorce arc, free at last from Cooke’s belittlement and verbal abuse.
-
Apolline may embrace the social media aspects of her career but George’s belittlement rankles her.
Verb
-
Others expressed concerns about diminishing Black voting power.
-
Movies Are Good, Actually By Michael O’Donnell A film critic’s new book attacks the medium for diminishing culture.
Cite this Entry
“Bad-mouthing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bad-mouthing. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
