as in defamation
the making of false statements that damage another's reputation
this smearing has got to stop, or the voters will conclude that there's absolutely no one worth voting for
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in coating
to rub an oily or sticky substance over
the toddler gleefully smeared her hair and face with maple syrup
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in libelling
to make untrue and harmful statements about
he is willing to smear his opponent if doing so would win the election
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smearing
Noun
-
Baldoni is suing her and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, for defamation.—
J. Kim Murphy,
Variety,
8 Mar. 2025 -
Some of those lies have been costly: In 2023, Fox News settled with Dominion Voting Systems in a defamation lawsuit, paying almost $800 million to avoid trial, according to The Associated Press.—
Carolyn Komatsoulis,
Idaho Statesman,
8 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Freedman has suggested that Gottlieb was responsible, at least in part, for the bombshell New York Times article regarding Lively’s accusations against Baldoni, who is currently suing the publication for libel and false light invasion of privacy.—
Larisha Paul,
Rolling Stone,
3 Feb. 2025
-
Baldoni is suing Lively, Reynolds, and their PR rep for defamation and extortion, as well as the NYT for libel.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
22 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
Wear gloves when touching cleaning products, take a break from painting your nails, and avoid acetone nail polish remover.—
Carrie Madormo, RN,
Health,
24 Dec. 2024
-
Homages to the Bethesda games’ slow-motion kills are aplenty, with gratuitous shots of bullets tearing through bodies and painting the walls red.—
Ars Technica,
Ars Technica,
24 Dec. 2024
Verb
-
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
-
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
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.
Cite this Entry
“Smearing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smearing. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share