as in defamation
the making of false statements that damage another's reputation
public maligning of a person can actually be grounds for a lawsuit
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in insulting
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in smearing
to make untrue and harmful statements about
a candidate who believes that it is possible to win an election without maligning anyone
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for maligning
Noun
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Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds are reportedly seeking to dismiss Justin Baldoni’s defamation lawsuit against them.—
Meredith Nardino,
Miami Herald,
31 Jan. 2025 -
In the weeks before his inauguration, ABC agreed to donate $15 million to Trump’s future presidential library to settle a defamation lawsuit against the network.—
Brian Stelter,
CNN,
31 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Courts should continue to quickly reject his absurd, insulting, and ahistorical legal arguments, which violate the clear text of the 14th Amendment.—
Elizabeth Wydra and Nina Henry,
Newsweek,
28 Jan. 2025
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For many, the very idea was insulting and represented an abandonment of loyal fans in Birmingham who can’t afford to fly out to the United States.—
Hannah Ryan,
CNN,
23 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The Jane the Virgin alum also sued The New York Times for libel, false light invasion of privacy and more on Dec. 31 over an article about her complaints against him.—
Jack Smart,
People.com,
21 Jan. 2025
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Rather than defend statements that George Stephanopoulos made about Trump last spring, ABC News last month agreed to make the former president's libel lawsuit go away by paying him $15 million toward his presidential library.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
17 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The 2023 Economic Report Of The President published in March of 2023 was relatively disparaging of cryptoassets and DLTs.—
Lawrence Wintermeyer,
Forbes,
5 Dec. 2024
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Prior to appearing on Cunningham's show on Monday, Huggins made more disparaging remarks about Xavier.—
Emily DeLetter,
The Enquirer,
10 May 2023
Adjective
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The source added that Trump’s history of attacking the Obama family and making degrading comments about people of color doesn’t sit well with her.—
Vivian Kwarm,
New York Daily News,
15 Jan. 2025
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Thanks to the internet and smartphones, children today have instant access to vast amounts of online pornography, much of it graphic, violent and degrading, Texas state attorneys told the Supreme Court on Wednesday.—
David G. Savage,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The film playfully critiques certain Muslim customs, but never in a demeaning way, while providing a heartwarming coming-of-age narrative that’s a tad predictable.—
Jordan Mintzer,
The Hollywood Reporter,
3 Sep. 2019
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Many of the jobs available to young and inexperienced workers are entry-level roles in the retail, restaurant and service industries, and these jobs are often talked about in a demeaning way.—
Brandon Busteed,
Forbes,
14 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Many of the conspiracy theories have prompted FEMA to create a page on its site discrediting rumors and false information about its response to Hurricane Helene.—
Nicole Sganga,
CBS News,
14 Oct. 2024
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Still, the United States didn’t recognize Haiti as a nation until 1862, during the Civil War, when American leadership was looking for any support in discrediting slavery.—
Chadd Scott,
Forbes,
10 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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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
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Robinson was sentenced late last year to a year and a half in prison due to violating a court order prohibiting him from repeating libelous allegations about a Syrian refugee, and Musk has been calling for his release.—
Tara Suter,
The Hill,
6 Jan. 2025
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Thesaurus Entries Near maligning
Cite this Entry
“Maligning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/maligning. Accessed 8 Feb. 2025.
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