Meaning & use

calumny

noun·Advanced

A false and malicious statement made deliberately to damage someone's reputation.

See it in a sentence

The senator dismissed the accusations as calumny spread by his political rivals.

Years of calumny in the press finally ended when the court cleared her name.

A note on using this word

Calumny is a formal, somewhat literary word for slander, stressing deliberate harm to someone's reputation through lies.

Words with a similar meaning

slanderdefamationlibel

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

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