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
-
In a $500 million defamation and elder abuse action of their own, Smokey Robinson and his wife are now going after the four former employees who have accused the Motown legend of rape in a $50 million lawsuit.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
28 May 2025 -
Baldoni responded with a $400 million defamation countersuit that named not only Lively but also her husband, Ryan Reynolds, their publicist and later Taylor Swift.—
Gemma Allen,
Forbes.com,
25 May 2025
Noun
-
Will the media’s libel protection last in the age of Trump?—
Ashley Oliver,
The Washington Examiner,
15 Apr. 2025
-
Wynn is a longtime friend of Donald Trump, who also has called for stricter libel laws.—
Ted Johnson,
Deadline,
24 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
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
-
The categories are painting, drawing, mixed media, printmaking, sculpture, photography, digital art and video/animation.—
Anne Gelhaus,
The Mercury News,
20 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
Poor data quality can provide wrong models and alerts, discrediting predictive monitoring.—
Hrushikesh Deshmukh,
Forbes,
24 Feb. 2025
-
Johnson released new guidelines for reporting gifts Wednesday after discrediting the investigation.—
Jake Sheridan,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Feb. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Smearing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smearing. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share