besmirching
present participle ofbesmirch
besmirch
verb[T]
literaryuk/bɪˈsmɜːtʃ/us/bɪˈsmɝːtʃ/to saybadthings about someone toinfluenceother people'sopinionof them:
Hisaccusationswerefalse, but theyservedto besmirch herreputation.
Synonym
defameformal
Compare
slanderverb
Damaging reputation
- anti-defamation
- aspersion
- besmirch
- black mark
- blacken
- blot
- demonize
- dog
- dragsomeone'sname through the mire/mudidiom
- give a dog a bad nameidiom
- hurl/throw/sling mud atsomeoneidiom
- self-immolation
- show someone in a bad lightidiom
- slander
- slanderer
- slanderous
- slur
- smear
- stab
- stain
Examplesofbesmirching
besmirching
In English, many past and present participles of verbs can be used as adjectives. Some of these examples may show the adjective use.
The former is characterised as a 'vice', the latter as a 'fouling' or 'besmirching', as 'dirt'.
From theCambridge English Corpus
I do not think that we help our case on either side bybesmirchingthe motives of those who argue against us.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
I fear that we are in danger ofbesmirchingthat record tonight.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
He isbesmirchingwhat is becoming a great reputation.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
Fifteen years on, we hear these allegations about thebesmirchingof reputations.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
Divestment can also be seen as a means ofbesmirchinga particular company.
From
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.