badmouth

Verb

Verb Forms: badmouthed, badmouthing, badmouths

To criticize someone or something maliciously.
speak unfavorably about
- "She badmouths her husband everywhere"
To criticize or malign, especially unfairly or spitefully.

Examples

Don’t badmouth the dictionary; it’s the only friend you have in Words With Friends.

Origin / Etymology

Calque of a Mande term, perhaps Vai [Term?] or Mandinka [Term?], which entered English via Gullah [Term?]. Compare Japanese 悪口(わるぐち) (waruguchi, “badmouthing”), which is a compound of 悪(わる) (waru, “bad, wicked”) and 口(くち) (kuchi, “mouth”).

Synonyms

drag through the mud, malign, traduce

Scrabble Score: 16

badmouth: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
badmouth: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
badmouth: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 18

badmouth: valid Words With Friends Word