character assassination

noun

: the slandering of a person usually with the intention of destroying public confidence in that person

Synonyms of character assassination

• defamation
• libel
• defaming
• libeling
• criticism

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

These are harmful character assassinations, not substantive debate. —Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Oc Register, 24 Mar. 2026

Political bullies also enjoy demeaning names and character assassination. —Arkansas Online, 16 Mar. 2026

Putting an exclamation point on that thought with a scene of Carol yelling at a group of joggers to get out of the way while listening to a self-motivation audiobook makes her character assassination feel heavy-handed this early on in the seven-episode run. —Andy Andersen, Vulture, 16 Mar. 2026

Liuzzo and Good suffered significant character assassination that their male partners-in-protest avoided. —Aniko Bodroghkozy, The Conversation, 24 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1822, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for character assassination

• deindustrialization
• immunoprecipitation
• individualisation
• individualization
• institutionalisation
• institutionalization
• internationalization
• neovascularization
• operationalization
• abbreviation
• abomination
• acceleration