verb
vilify
VIL-uh-fy/ˈvɪlɪfaɪ/
To speak or write about someone in a severely abusive way.
The angry critic vilifies the colleague before listeners who begin rejecting her.
Etymology
The pieces mean “make cheap or base”: vilify first meant to lower something’s worth or esteem it lightly. It came to mean lowering people’s reputations by speaking evil of them.
In context
Republicans often will blame transgender people and blame these small minority groups and vilify them and us
More examples
- You can disagree with her without vilifying her.
- Online commenters vilified the referee after the game.
- His opponents vilify him as a traitor and a fraud.
Forms
vilify · vilifies · vilified · vilifying
vilification noun — Severely abusive criticism of a person.
Similar words
- malign
- Emphasizes speaking harmfully about someone, often with false claims.
- defame
- Focuses on damaging someone's reputation through false statements.