as in libellous
causing or intended to cause unjust injury to a person's good name
a calumnious campaign ad that went well beyond the negativity to which voters had become so richly accustomed
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for calumnious
Adjective
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The latest erroneous metaphor is that our brains are like AI systems.—
Iddo Gefen,
Twin Cities,
16 July 2025 -
The amount a state owes would be based on a formula set by the percentage of erroneous payments reported each year.—
Elena Moore,
NPR,
28 June 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
Adjective
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Yes, that concert that went viral for a scandalous affair.—
Ashlyn Robinette,
People.com,
24 July 2025
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The catalyst for the drama was Lady Duff Twysden, a 34-year-old socialite from the louche British upper classes who had become a scandalous minor celebrity in Paris for her beauty, her unique style and her many affairs.—
Tony Perrottet,
Smithsonian Magazine,
30 June 2025
Adjective
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These unpredictable, and often downright unfavorable, conditions are already impacting event attendance.—
Shawn Pierce,
Forbes.com,
22 July 2025
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Now, as then, Chinese leaders may pursue war even if the domestic economic and political conditions appear unfavorable—and even if the PLA is not ready to fight.—
M. Taylor Fravel,
Foreign Affairs,
18 July 2025
Adjective
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One of the things your piece says is that, essentially for the entire duration of the war, there’ve been false warnings about a hunger crisis.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
30 July 2025
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The leaders who rise—and the companies that outperform—will be those that refuse the false trade-off.—
Jack Zenger,
Forbes.com,
30 July 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Calumnious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/calumnious. Accessed 4 Aug. 2025.
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