1
as in defamation
the making of false statements that damage another's reputation
the actor's lawyers charge that the tabloid engaged in a deliberate campaign of character assassination
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in libel
the use of personal attacks or insults in order to undermine an opponent
refused to resort to character assassination even if it meant losing his bid for governor
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 character assassination
Liuzzo and Good suffered significant character assassination that their male partners-in-protest avoided.
—
Aniko Bodroghkozy, The Conversation, 24 Feb. 2026
Cries of character assassination that the super smart Donnie would have to ask an AI algorithm for advice could be found all over Twitter.
—Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 11 Dec. 2025
Fending off a character assassination?
—Usa Today, USA Today, 4 Nov. 2025
Roberts brings a jolt of invigorating fury to one of the movie’s strongest scenes, in which the mentor rips into her mentee in public on a campus square with a fully detailed character assassination.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 29 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for character assassination
Aniko Bodroghkozy, The Conversation, 24 Feb. 2026
Cries of character assassination that the super smart Donnie would have to ask an AI algorithm for advice could be found all over Twitter.
—Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 11 Dec. 2025
Fending off a character assassination?
—Usa Today, USA Today, 4 Nov. 2025
Roberts brings a jolt of invigorating fury to one of the movie’s strongest scenes, in which the mentor rips into her mentee in public on a campus square with a fully detailed character assassination.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 29 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for character assassination
Recent Examples of Synonyms for character assassination
Noun
-
Alfie now faces four defamation lawsuits filed by Milei's close allies seeking millions in damages.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Maxwell denied the allegations and sued Giuffre for defamation.—
Julie K. Brown,
Miami Herald,
26 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Prince Harry is being sued for libel by his former charity Sentebale.—
Chanel Vargas,
InStyle,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Online filings show Harry and his friend, Mark Dyer, a former trustee at the charity, are being sued for either libel or slander.—
Brian Melley,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
But whether a potential second film would try to acknowledge the abuse allegations against Jackson, including those at the center of a 2005 trial that ended in his acquittal on all counts, is unclear.—
Brendan Morrow,
USA Today,
26 Apr. 2026
-
Anyone with information on this case or other animal abuse cases is urged to contact the PSPCA's Cruelty Hotline at (866) 601-SPCA.—
Alexandra Simon,
CBS News,
26 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The censure appears to be the first in recent memory at Judson ISD.—
Noah Alcala Bach,
San Antonio Express-News,
24 Apr. 2026
-
Potential punishments included a reprimand or a censure, which serve as forms of public rebuke.—
Kevin Freking,
Sun Sentinel,
21 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
His first collection, Death of a Naturalist, was published by Faber and Faber in 1966 and was followed by eleven other volumes of poetry, as well as collections of literary criticism, anthologies, translations, and verse plays.—
Nick Laird,
The New York Review of Books,
25 Apr. 2026
-
With Minnesota viewing them as soft, the Nuggets hardly seem bothered by the criticism.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
25 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Whereas the initial narrowband signal might have a strong power across just a few frequencies, the smearing spreads that power across more frequencies, reducing the strength of the signal.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
8 Mar. 2026
-
Black inks for the same printers tend to have less obvious smearing than the color ink, and many smear just enough to see a smudge, without harming readability.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
30 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Character assassination.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/character%20assassination. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
