impugn
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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impugnabilitynoun
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impugnationnoun
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impugnernoun
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impugnmentnoun
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impugnableadjective
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unimpugnableadjective
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unimpugnedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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impugnsimple
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impugnssimple
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have impugnedperfect
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has impugnedperfect
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am impugningprogressive
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are impugningprogressive
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is impugningprogressive
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have been impugningperfect progressive
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has been impugningperfect progressive
Past
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impugnedsimple
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had impugnedperfect
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was impugningprogressive
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were impugningprogressive
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had been impugningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of impugn
1325–75; Middle English impugnen < Middle French impugner < Latin impugnāre to attack, equivalent to im- im- 1 + pugnāre to fight, derivative of pugnus fist; see pugnacious
Explanation
To impugn means to call into question or attack as wrong. If your usually grumpy brother is suddenly nice and sweet, you'll impugn his motives if you're smart — he probably just wants something from you. The root of impugn is the Latin pugnare which means "to fight," so when you impugn, you are fighting or attacking, but by saying that something is false or wrong. If a candidate has a record that cannot be impugned, his or her opponent might go for a character attack. If you take pride in your work, you will be especially insulted if someone impugns your professionalism or integrity.
Vocabulary lists containing impugn
Hidden Figures
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First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong
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The Merchant of Venice
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Ms. Nuzzi will not dignify efforts to impugn her character with any future response,” Nuzzi’s lawyer Ari Wilkenfeld said in a statement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025
Stories like these are not told to impugn the professionalism and ethics of the American military.
From Slate ● Jun. 10, 2025
That’s not to say that a cynic would be shocked if somebody donated to charity or helped a stranger, but they might suspect or impugn the person’s motives.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2024
Whatever he knows that he has done to others, he tries to impugn upon the next person.
From Salon ● Nov. 6, 2023
Because, without the slightest desire to impugn in any detail the lady's veracity, he had the best of reasons for knowing that she had--well--made a mistake.
From Between the Dark and the Daylight by Marsh, Richard
The rules of evidence are supposed to prohibit the presentation of “character evidence” — information that simply impugns a defendant or reveals past wrongs — to avoid biasing jurors.
From New York Times ● Mar. 30, 2022
We’ve learned a lot about women’s rights and the suffrage movement, and do we hear men saying that it shouldn’t be taught because it impugns men?
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 3, 2022
Still, founded on prodigious research, it convincingly impugns key tenets of Bugliosi’s narrative and exhumes a trove of provocative data.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2019
He also said it “tacitly impugns the integrity” of judges to suggest that they could not meet performance standards.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2018
"I have known Hilton Dane from boyhood, as I knew his father before him; and I haven't the slightest objection to hurting the feelings of any man who impugns the honesty of my friends."
From The League of the Leopard by Bindloss, Harold
Humphrey, the Court said a prisoner named Roy Heck couldn’t seek monetary damages for what he claimed was an unconstitutional manslaughter conviction, without first getting it overturned or impugned in some way.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026
“It would seem that because not only their reputations are being impugned, but they are central to this case—it would seem that an interview of these two prosecutors would be central.”
From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2024
“The impugned conduct took place in Queensland whether one terms the impugned conduct an ‘effect’ or actual conduct,” she added.
From Seattle Times ● May 23, 2024
Federal and state prosecutors have dropped or dismissed dozens of cases that relied on the impugned officers and the city now faces a federal civil rights lawsuit over the text messages.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2023
People tend to get defensive when the integrity of their national sport is impugned.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
Just as in Pretti’s case, Noem and other senior administration officials justified the incident within hours of her death by impugning the victim’s motives without producing substantive evidence.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 25, 2026
She said plaintiffs could potentially go after companies for faulty or negligent designs that result in algorithms putting out damaging information, impugning reputation.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 13, 2023
He suggested that Mr Johnson's behaviour was "impugning the reputations of Conservative MPs".
From BBC ● Jan. 11, 2022
The lawyers conceded that comments attacking her appearance, impugning her motives and implying she had made false accusations against others “were without question unnecessary and inappropriate.”
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 7, 2021
The others came out of the ship, on my advice: evidence of any mistrust at this point would humiliate the Karhidish escort, impugning their shifgrethor.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
