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character assassination
noun
: the slandering of a person usually with the intention of destroying public confidence in that person
Synonyms
Examples of character assassination in a Sentence
None of those rumors are true. She's been the victim of character assassination.
the actor's lawyers charge that the tabloid engaged in a deliberate campaign of character assassination
Recent Examples on the Web
At the same time, politicians talked while the top brass stole, and all Ivan was left with was mindless paperwork — and now character assassination.
—Sarah A. Topol, New York Times, 20 Sep. 2024
Farber harshly criticizes Cuba’s treatment of blacks, homosexuals, and political dissidents and exposes the Castro regime’s practice of obfuscating policy debates through character assassination.
—Richard Feinberg, Foreign Affairs, 1 Jan. 2012
Being falsely painted as a liar when I was never given the full story or played any part of the song is character assassination.
—EW.com, 6 Aug. 2024
The mud-slinging and character assassinations started after Trump decided to enter the political arena.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 5 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for character assassination
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'character assassination.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1822, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of character assassination was
in 1822
Dictionary Entries Near character assassination
Cite this Entry
“Character assassination.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/character%20assassination. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
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