vilify

[ vil-uh-fahy ]
See synonyms for vilify on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object),vil·i·fied, vil·i·fy·ing.
  1. to speak ill of; defame; slander.

  2. Obsolete. to make vile.

Origin of vilify

1
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English word from Late Latin word vīlificāre.See vile, -fy

Other words for vilify

Opposites for vilify

Other words from vilify

  • vil·i·fi·ca·tion [vil-uh-fi-key-shuhn], /ˌvɪl ə fɪˈkeɪ ʃən/, noun
  • vil·i·fi·er, noun
  • vil·i·fy·ing·ly, adverb
  • un·vil·i·fied, adjective

Words that may be confused with vilify

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use vilify in a sentence

  • In the early years of his wedded life he killed in a duel —though unknown to his wife—a man who had vilified Mme. Desmarets.

    Repertory Of The Comedie Humaine, Complete, A -- Z | Anatole Cerfberr and Jules Franois Christophe
  • They have been vilified and traduced—but what would Ireland be without them?

    Lavengro | George Borrow
  • To neither reformer nor reactionary would he concede one jot, p 164and in consequence from each side he was vilified.

    The Age of Erasmus | P. S. Allen
  • The encomium holding good of herself, she refrained from lecturing him on the subject of the vilified Denham.

    Forging the Blades | Bertram Mitford
  • There is no class of persons so generally underrated and vilified, yet this would be a dull world without them.

British Dictionary definitions for vilify

vilify

/ (ˈvɪlɪˌfaɪ) /


verb-fies, -fying or -fied (tr)
  1. to revile with abusive or defamatory language; malign: he has been vilified in the tabloid press

  2. rare to make vile; debase; degrade

Origin of vilify

1
C15: from Late Latin vīlificāre, from Latin vīlis worthless + facere to make

Derived forms of vilify

  • vilification (ˌvɪlɪfɪˈkeɪʃən), noun
  • vilifier, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012