vilification

[vil-uh-fi-key-shuhn]

noun

1. the act of defaming or speaking ill of someone or something.

   Senior bishops are prepared to atone for the vilification their predecessors heaped on Darwin in the 1860s, when he put forward his theory of evolution.

Word History and Origins

Origin of vilification¹

First recorded in 1600–10; equivalent to vili(fy) ( def. ) + -fication ( def. )

Example Sentences

There followed a statement by U.S. bishops condemning what they called the vilification and arbitrary treatment of migrants.

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“We are concerned by the state of contemporary debate and the vilification of immigrants. We are concerned about the conditions in detention centers and the lack of access to pastoral care.”

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A few years later, Laws and another presenter on radio station 2UE were found guilty of breaking homosexual vilification laws for referring to a young gay couple using derogatory language.

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"So how's he responded? He's responded by co-ordinating the most unprecedented vilification and campaign of incitement to violence against the man who, frankly, he knows he cannot beat at the ballot box," he said.

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"Make no mistake, this type of rhetoric is contributing to the surge in assaults of officers through their repeated vilification and demonization."

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