as in defamation
the making of false statements that damage another's reputation
this smearing has got to stop, or the voters will conclude that there's absolutely no one worth voting for
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in coating
to rub an oily or sticky substance over
the toddler gleefully smeared her hair and face with maple syrup
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in libelling
to make untrue and harmful statements about
he is willing to smear his opponent if doing so would win the election
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smearing
Noun
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In a separate move Wednesday, Trump also took action against the law firm Susman Godfrey, which represented Dominion Voting Systems in its high-profile defamation lawsuit against Fox News.—
Raja Krishnamoorthi,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Apr. 2025 -
Federal courts apply state law to defamation cases.—
David Folkenflik,
NPR,
13 Apr. 2025
Noun
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What To Know The lawsuit filed Friday accuses the Associated Press of defamation and libel.—
David Faris,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Apr. 2025
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Supreme Court rejects Steve Wynn appeal The Supreme Court has turned back an appeal from casino mogul Steve Wynn, who had challenged a landmark libel ruling as part of a lawsuit against The Associated Press.—
Boston Herald Wire Services,
Boston Herald,
25 Mar. 2025
Verb
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In the painting Untitled (Gram Yatra), Husain emphasizes the centrality of village and rural life in India as the basis for going forward as a new nation.—
Karen K. Ho for ARTnews,
Robb Report,
20 Mar. 2025
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The categories are painting, drawing, mixed media, printmaking, sculpture, photography, digital art and video/animation.—
Anne Gelhaus,
The Mercury News,
20 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Poor data quality can provide wrong models and alerts, discrediting predictive monitoring.—
Hrushikesh Deshmukh,
Forbes,
24 Feb. 2025
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Johnson released new guidelines for reporting gifts Wednesday after discrediting the investigation.—
Jake Sheridan,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Feb. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Smearing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smearing. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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