Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To make maliciously or knowingly false statements about. synonym: malign.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To utter calumny regarding; charge falsely and knowingly with some crime or offense, or something disreputable; slander.
  • Synonyms Defame, Calumniate, etc. See asperse.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb To propagate evil reports with a design to injure the reputation of another; to make purposely false charges of some offense or crime.
  • intransitive verb To accuse falsely and maliciously of a crime or offense, or of something disreputable; to slander; to libel.
  • intransitive verb To asperse; slander; defame; vilify; traduce; belie; bespatter; blacken; libel. See Asperse.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb To make hurtful untrue comments about (someone)

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin calumniārī, calumniāt-, from calumnia, calumny; see calumny.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin calumniātus, perfect active participle of calumnior ("I accuse falsely").

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Examples

  • "ye are spoken against," omitting the rest. falsely accuse -- "calumniate"; the Greek expresses malice shown in deeds as well as in words.

    Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible 1871

  • Soon Mr. Figes's lawyer was running around threatening libel actions against anyone who dared to calumniate his client.

    Lawsuits Fly Over Mean Online Reviews 2010

  • The Masonic religion should be, by all of its initiates of the higher degrees, maintained in the purity of the Luciferian doctrine. if Lucifer were not God, would Adonay (the God of the Christians) whose deeds prove his cruelty perfidy, and hatred of man, Barbarism and repulsion for science, would Adonay and his priests calumniate him?

    La Satanism Exposed | Disinformation 2008

  • The crime, some suggested, was the logical culmination of certain pro-lifers 'apocalyptic rhetoric and their penchant for singling out particular individuals to calumniate.

    Red State Story 2009

  • Delvile, by which her own goodness proved the source of her defamation: and though something still hung upon her mind that destroyed that firm confidence she had hitherto felt in the friendship of Mr Monckton, she held it utterly unjust to condemn him without proof, which she was not more unable to procure, than to satisfy herself with any reason why so perfidiously he should calumniate her.

    Cecilia 2008

  • She was now wholly confirmed that he had wronged her with Mr Delvile; she could not have two enemies so malignant without provocation, and he who so unfeelingly could dissolve a union at the very altar, could alone have the baseness to calumniate her so cruelly.

    Cecilia 2008

  • Who shall praise or honour princes who insult and calumniate each other?

    The Talisman 2008

  • The worship of God is, Honouring his gifts in other men each according to his genius, and loving the greatest men best; those who envy or calumniate great men hate God, for there is no other God.

    The Marriage of Heaven and Hell 2008

  • In the eyes of despotic governments, who are always interested in having liberty calumniate itself, the Revolution of July committed the fault of being formidable and of remaining gentle.

    Les Miserables 2008

  • You do more, under the pretext of unmasking yourself, you calumniate yourself.

    Les Miserables 2008

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