calumny
Plural: calumnies
Noun
- A false and malicious statement designed to harm someone's reputation.
- a false accusation of an offense or a malicious misrepresentation of someone's words or actions
- an abusive attack on a person's character or good name
- A false accusation or charge brought to tarnish another's reputation or standing.
- Falsifications or misrepresentations intended to disparage or discredit another.
Verb
- To make false accusations or levy false charges against a person with the intent to tarnish that person's reputation or standing; to calumniate.
Examples
- Accusations of abuse were pure extortive calumny in a malicious bid to make money.
- The CALUMNY spread about his Scrabble cheating was entirely unfounded.
Origin / Etymology
From Late Middle English calumnīe (“false accusation, slander; (law) objection raised in bad faith”), borrowed from Old French calomnie (“slander, calumny”) (modern French calomnie), or directly from its etymon Latin calumnia (“false statement, misrepresentation; false accusation, malicious charge”), perhaps related to calvor (“to deceive”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱelh₁- or *ḱh₂l-. The English word is a doublet of challenge.
The verb is derived from French calomnier (“to slander”), from Late Latin calumniāre, from Latin calumpniārī, calumniārī (“to blame unjustly, misrepresent, calumniate; (law) to accuse falsely, bring false information against”), from calumnia (see above) + -or.
Synonyms
aspersion, calumniation, defamation, denigration, hatchet job, obloquy, slander, traducement, asperse, assassinate, backbite, badmouth, belibel, belittle, besmirch, blaze, blemish, blot, calumniate, calumniousness, calumny, character assassination, cloud, cut down, defame, demonize, denigrate, derogate, detract, detraction, discredit, disgrace, disparage, disparagement, diss, forgab, infamize, lampoon, libel, malign, monster, reproach, revile, scandal, shit-talk, slag, spatter, speak ill of, stab, talk shit, talk shite, talk trash, torch, traduce, trash-talk, vilification, vilify, vilipend, vituperate
Scrabble Score: 14
calumny: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordcalumny: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
calumny: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary