as in to dismiss
to express scornfully one's low opinion of
she promptly bad-mouthed that awful movie to everyone she knew
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Recent Examples of bad-mouth
At one point, Brown stepped away from the set, and co-stars Antoni Porowski, Tan France and Jonathan van Ness began bad-mouthing him behind his back, while his mom heard the whole conversation, according to TMZ.
—
Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 21 Jan. 2026
Most of the people who were bad-mouthing Titanic had not seen so much as a minute of film.
—Stacy Lambe, PEOPLE, 22 Oct. 2025
This is not some glossy revisionist history of a person’s life; the man had a beautiful soul who didn’t have it in him to bad-mouth a cockroach.
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Sep. 2025
Ranting on LinkedIn and bad-mouthing your ex-employer or naming and shaming your last negative recruitment experience won’t help you either.
—Rachel Wells, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
This was a departure from Mourinho and Conte, who both moaned about investment, attacked the club culture, exited unceremoniously, and bad-mouthed them afterward.
—Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2025
Leading up to the premiere of It Ends With Us last year, Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni reached an uneasy truce in which it was agreed that neither side would bad-mouth the other to the press.
—Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Mar. 2025
The neighbor's negative response—bad-mouthing OP to others—reflects an entitlement mindset, Sprowl noted.
—Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 24 Jan. 2025
The vulnerable Mayfair he’s sent to woo is new character Moira, who’s been getting on everybody’s nerves by bad-mouthing Lasher for second-degree murdering her sister Tessa.
—Kathleen Walsh, Vulture, 5 Jan. 2025
Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 21 Jan. 2026
Most of the people who were bad-mouthing Titanic had not seen so much as a minute of film.
—Stacy Lambe, PEOPLE, 22 Oct. 2025
This is not some glossy revisionist history of a person’s life; the man had a beautiful soul who didn’t have it in him to bad-mouth a cockroach.
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Sep. 2025
Ranting on LinkedIn and bad-mouthing your ex-employer or naming and shaming your last negative recruitment experience won’t help you either.
—Rachel Wells, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
This was a departure from Mourinho and Conte, who both moaned about investment, attacked the club culture, exited unceremoniously, and bad-mouthed them afterward.
—Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2025
Leading up to the premiere of It Ends With Us last year, Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni reached an uneasy truce in which it was agreed that neither side would bad-mouth the other to the press.
—Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Mar. 2025
The neighbor's negative response—bad-mouthing OP to others—reflects an entitlement mindset, Sprowl noted.
—Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 24 Jan. 2025
The vulnerable Mayfair he’s sent to woo is new character Moira, who’s been getting on everybody’s nerves by bad-mouthing Lasher for second-degree murdering her sister Tessa.
—Kathleen Walsh, Vulture, 5 Jan. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bad-mouth
Verb
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Johnson dismissed the criticism.—
Jack Fink,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2026
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Red flags worth walking away from include dismissing symptoms without investigation, attributing everything to stress or anxiety, discouraging second opinions and making patients feel rushed.—
Allison Palmer,
Miami Herald,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
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There is a commitment to that philosophy, even as there is a determination to minimize bad outcomes as much as is humanly possible.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Mar. 2026
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By generating electricity from fuel during flight and switching to a quieter electric mode when required, the system allows smaller drones to extend their operational range while minimizing noise and thermal signatures.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Two advisers to Qatar told me that Global Risk had also conducted background checks and written reports on people linked to campaigns criticizing Qatar; corporate-intelligence firms often provide such open-source research.—
David D. Kirkpatrick,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
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However, in a pair of letters to the editor published in the Journal of Pediatrics, doctors criticized the article as hyped.—
David Hilzenrath,
USA Today,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Together, the potential departures of two of Kansas City’s most experienced lawmakers — one on his own terms, one forced — could play a role in shaping the city’s future and diminish its ability to secure local priorities at the federal level.—
Kacen Bayless,
Kansas City Star,
1 Apr. 2026
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Some of the gags are inspired, some are exasperating, none of them are presented in a way that suggests the filmmakers know the difference, and all of them are shoved down your throat until they’re diminished enough to swallow.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Trump administration officials were quick to side with the officers who killed Good and Pretti, also making disparaging remarks about the two Minnesotans and accusing them of attempting to carry out domestic terrorism in their interactions with immigration authorities.—
Rebecca Beitsch,
The Hill,
24 Mar. 2026
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Andrew Nixon, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, directed STAT to Roll Call, which first reported the news, where officials acknowledged Malone’s departure and defended Nixon against disparaging comments by Malone.—
Chelsea Cirruzzo,
STAT,
24 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Villaraigosa acknowledged the allegations against Chavez complicate and denigrate his legacy as both a civil rights leader and a man.—
Stephanie Elam,
CNN Money,
21 Mar. 2026
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But unlike men who exploited humoral theory and biblical myths to denigrate women’s bodies and minds, Hildegard valorized the contribution of female difference to nature’s grand scheme.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Dear Coop Community, At a recent general meeting, a member was allowed to belittle and vilify fellow members who signed the petition opposing the Israeli government’s escalating mistreatment of the Palestinian people.—
Christine Smallwood,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
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The ruthlessness of the producers cutting folk off mid-speech or retracting the microphone and upping the music volume was belittling to those on stage.—
Baz Bamigboye,
Deadline,
16 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bad-mouth.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bad-mouth. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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