1. to make false and defamatory statements about someone; to slander
Usage: formal

Examples

• The politician’s opponents tried to calumniate her character during the campaign.
• He was accused of calumniating his former business partner in the press.
• The journalist refused to calumniate anyone without solid evidence.
• She felt that the rumors were designed to calumniate her reputation.
• The court found that the defendant had calumniated the plaintiff in several public statements.
• It is unethical to calumniate someone based on mere speculation.