as in defamation
the making of false statements that damage another's reputation
warned that the constant vilification of candidates for public office was undermining the people's faith in the political system
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of vilification
Why is the American state so susceptible to vilification?
—
Jon D. Michaels, Foreign Affairs, 15 Aug. 2017
The continued vilification of immigrants only serves to harm American families, communities, and our economy.
—John Yoo and John Shu, Newsweek, 23 Jan. 2025
Businesses benefiting from minority funding programs are also in line to experience the shockwaves of the President’s vilification of what fellow conservatives view as the infiltration of wokeism into American culture and politics necessitating an end to policies promoting affirmative action.
—Gus Alexiou, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025
The way such seed oils are typically made also contributes to their vilification.
—Erica Sloan, SELF, 13 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for vilification
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vilification
Noun
-
Newsmax was motivated to raise money through an IPO partly due to the defamation lawsuits against the channel stemming from the 2020 election.—
-
In response, Baldoni, 41, filed a $400 million defamation lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds, their publicist Leslie Sloane and Sloane's PR firm Vision PR Inc., as well as a lawsuit against The New York Times regarding the outlet's reporting on Lively's allegations.—
Noun
-
Baldoni has since sued The Times for libel, and the newspaper stood by its coverage.—
-
On New Year’s Eve, Baldoni and nine other plaintiffs, including his crisis publicist Melissa Nathan, sued the New York Times for $250 million for libel over their initial story about Lively’s allegations.—
Noun
-
The emotional stories linked with characters portrayed as cold-blooded killers trained by terrorists have left the film amid wide criticism over its intentions.—
-
Many of the artists now topping the charts have come under fierce criticism because their lyrics often paint cartel leaders as Robin Hood-esque figures.—
Cite this Entry
“Vilification.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vilification. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share