as in attack dog
one who makes harsh, personal attacks against opponents
a local hot-button issue that has turned some normally mild-mannered neighbors into letter-writing mudslingers
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of mudslinger
Social media platforms were a critical battleground during the campaign, with political mudslingers waging cyberwar with few legal constraints after the government failed to act on calls for a new law to protect democracy in the internet age.
—
Washington Post, 12 Dec. 2019
In 2010, when the group launched ahead of Barack Obama’s reelection campaign, Brock had imposed a set of self-regulations on the staff that would cultivate an air of respectability for the mudslingers.
—Gabriel Debenedetti, Daily Intelligencer, 20 May 2018
What must be almost the last charge of this decimated brigade of mudslingers approaches again, carrying with them like a Kathy Griffin icon the utter imbecility of the Steele accusations.
—Conrad Black, National Review, 11 Oct. 2017
If that lady is a 101-year-old movie legend, any would-be mudslingers best take care, her attorney said this week.
—Christie D'zurilla, latimes.com, 2 Sep. 2017
He isn’t known as a dogface solider boy or mudslinger in South Miami.
—Alex Butler, miamiherald, 28 Apr. 2017
Washington Post, 12 Dec. 2019
In 2010, when the group launched ahead of Barack Obama’s reelection campaign, Brock had imposed a set of self-regulations on the staff that would cultivate an air of respectability for the mudslingers.
—Gabriel Debenedetti, Daily Intelligencer, 20 May 2018
What must be almost the last charge of this decimated brigade of mudslingers approaches again, carrying with them like a Kathy Griffin icon the utter imbecility of the Steele accusations.
—Conrad Black, National Review, 11 Oct. 2017
If that lady is a 101-year-old movie legend, any would-be mudslingers best take care, her attorney said this week.
—Christie D'zurilla, latimes.com, 2 Sep. 2017
He isn’t known as a dogface solider boy or mudslinger in South Miami.
—Alex Butler, miamiherald, 28 Apr. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mudslinger
Noun
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Right-wing media personalities like Bongino, acting as Trump’s top attack dogs, routinely floated unproven theories as a way to malign Trump’s political opponents.—
Brian Stelter,
CNN Money,
19 May 2025
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Critics, including former Missouri U.S. senators from both parties, say he’s become more like the president’s mouthpiece and attack dog than the chief prosecutor fighting crime in the nation’s capital.—
Judy L. Thomas,
Kansas City Star,
31 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Since then, the shark has pinged several times including on Jan. 26 and Feb. 6.—
Natalie Neysa Alund,
USA Today,
14 June 2025
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The shark came swimming in the shallow waters, lurking right where the waves broke.—
Liz O'Connell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mudslinger.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mudslinger. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.
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