calumny
Syllables: ca·lum·ny/ˈkæləmni/
calumny noun: a false accusation or charge brought to tarnish another's reputation or standing.
Noun
calumny (countable and uncountable, plural calumnies)
- A false accusation or charge brought to tarnish another's reputation or standing.
- He [Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk] mentioned to her [Elizabeth I of England] the rumour, which was ſpread of his marriage with the Scotch Queen [Mary, Queen of Scots]; he complained of it as a groundleſs calumny; and diſclaimed all thoughts of that kind, with many expreſſions full of contempt...1759, William Robertson, “Book V”, in The History of Scotland, during the Reigns of Queen Mary and of King James VI, till His Accession to the Crown of England. […], volume I, London: […] A[ndrew]...
- To publish all malicious calumnies against an individual with an intent to defame him, is a wrong on the part of the calumniator, and an injury to the individual, for which the law affords redress. To write or print these calumnies is such an aggravation of the crime, as to constitute an offense...1799, George Anastaplo, “[Appendix] Report of a House of Delegates Minority on the Virginia Resolutions (1799)”, in Reflections on Freedom of Speech and the First Amendment, Lexington, Ky....
- Falsifications or misrepresentations intended to disparage or discredit another.
- Accusations of abuse were pure extortive calumny in a malicious bid to make money.
- Thus have I frielie, in reverence and love, schewit my opinion in this matter, and that privatlie to your self alone, to consider it mair deiplie, without bitternes or upbraiding calumnie to thame who sie and hes socht out this mater mair warelie, whose harts I trust ze sal find far from calumnie...1586 March 4, James Carmichael, “[Letters and Papers of Mr James Carmichael, Minister of Haddington. M.D.LXXXIV.–M.D.LXXXVI.] A Part of Mr Carmichael’s Letter to His Father-in-law, against the...
Verb
calumny (third-person singular simple present calumnies, present participle calumnying, simple past and past participle calumnied)
- To make false accusations or levy false charges against a person with the intent to tarnish that person's reputation or standing; to calumniate.
- His [Dominieus Dietrich's] memory has been basely calumnied by many German historians.1849, Wolfgang Menzel, “The Great Elector”, in Mrs. George Horrocks, transl., The History of Germany, from the Earliest Period to the Present Time. … Translated from the Fourth German Edition. … In...
- However, the Priests of the idols, not content with persecuting Christians, began to calumny them; the Philosophers, finding a Religion that preached humility unrewarding, joined their Priests. Ridicule and insults were showered […] on the new Sect from all sides.1997, [Jean-Jacques] Rousseau, “[Discourse on the Sciences and Arts or First Discourse, part II.] Observations [to Stanislas, King of Poland]”, in Victor Gourevitch, editor, The Discourses and Other...
calumny meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Bengali and Malayalam
calumny in Tamil
- அவதூறு, இகழ்ந்துரை, புறங்கூறல்
calumny in Urdu
- شاخسانہ, طوفان
calumny in Bengali
- false accusation or charge brought to tarnish another's reputation or standing
- এলজাম elzam
- falsifications or misrepresentations intended to disparage or discredit another
- এলজাম elzam
- to make false accusations or levy false charges against a person with the intent to tarnish that person's reputation or standing — see also calumniate
- এলজাম দেওয়া elzam deẇa
calumny in Malayalam
- calumny
- അപവാദം apavādaṁ
More languagesFewer languages
- calumny in Kannada
- ಕೋಳು, ತಳ್ಳಿಮಾತು, ಕೋಳ್, ಮಿಥ್ಯಾಪವಾದ
- calumny in Punjabi
- ਤੁਹਮਤ tuhmat
- calumny in Tagalog
- pananakwat, sakwat
- calumny in Arabic
- بُهْتَان buhtān, اِفْتِرَاء iftirāʔ, طَعْن ṭaʕn
- calumny in Thai
- การใส่ร้าย, การป้ายสี, การบิดเบือน
Examples of calumny in a sentence
- The vile calumny met with the contempt it merited.1853 July, John S[tevens] C[abot] Abbott, “Napoleon Bonaparte”, in Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, volume VII, number XXXVIII, New York...
- Mehta was introducing a new spirit in the discussions in the Legislative Council, and ended by accusing him of uttering a calumny.1895 May 4, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, “Sir P. M. Mehta”, in Speeches of Gopal Krishna Gokhale, 3rd edition, Madras: G. A. Natesan & Co....
- If thou doſt marry, Ile giue thee / This plague to thy dowry: / Be thou as chaſte as yce, as pure as ſnowe, / Thou ſhalt not ſcape calumny, to a Nunnery goe.c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shake-speare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: […] (First Quarto), London: […]...
- There meet two rivals of Neptunian race, / Hoſtilities begin with fierce grimace: / In ſcorn, contempt, in oaths and calumny, / In virulence, and vile contumely, […]1774 November, G. D., “The Tar’s Engagement”, in Sylvanus Urban [pseudonym; Edward Cave], editor, The Gentleman’s Magazine, and Historical...
Synonyms of calumny
- calumniousness
- defamation
- obloquy
- traducement
- vilification
- aspersion
- character assassination
- detraction
- disparagement
- libel
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of calumny
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | calumnies |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | calumnies |
| present participle | calumnying |
| past participle | calumnied |
| past | calumnied |
Origin of calumny
From Late Middle English calumnīe (“false accusation, slander; (law) objection raised in bad faith”), borrowed from Old French calomnie (“slander, calumny”) (modern French calomnie), or directly from its etymon Latin calumnia (“false statement, misrepresentation; false accusation, malicious charge”), perhaps also related to calvor (“to deceive”). The English word is a doublet of challenge. The verb is derived from French calomnier (“to slander”), from Late Latin calumniāre, from Latin calumpniārī, calumniārī (“to blame unjustly, misrepresent, calumniate; (law) to accuse falsely, bring false information against”), from calumnia (see above) + -or.
Words formed from calumny
Phrases with calumny
Questions about calumny
- What does calumny mean?
- Calumny means a false accusation or charge brought to tarnish another's reputation or standing.
- What is calumny in Tamil?
- Calumny in Tamil is அவதூறு, இகழ்ந்துரை, புறங்கூறல். See Calumny meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use calumny in a sentence?
- The vile calumny met with the contempt it merited.
- What part of speech is calumny?
- Calumny can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce calumny?
- Calumny is pronounced /ˈkæləmni/ (UK).
- What is the plural of calumny?
- The plural of calumny is calumnies.
Words near calumny in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: calumny (page history and authors); calumny (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); calumny (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); അപവാദം (Malayalam) (page history and authors); calumny (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ਤੁਹਮਤ (Punjabi) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-calumny.wav, en-au-calumny.ogg.
Cite this entry: “calumny.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/calumny. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.