aspersion

[uh-spur-zhuhn, -shuhn]

See more synonyms for aspersion on Thesaurus.com

noun

a damaging or derogatory remark or criticism; slander: casting aspersions on a campaign rival.
the act of slandering; vilification; defamation; calumniation; derogation: Such vehement aspersions cannot be ignored.
the act of sprinkling, as in baptism.

Archaic. a shower or spray.

Origin of aspersion

1545–55; (< Middle French) < Latin aspersiōn- (stem of aspersiō) a sprinkling. See asperse, -ion

Related formsnon·as·per·sion, noun

Synonyms for aspersion

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1. censure, reproach.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for aspersion

obloquy, animadversion, hit, knock, defamation, smear, detraction, invective, slander, abuse, rap, libel, put-down, calumny, slam, vituperation, backbiting

Examples from the Web for aspersion

Contemporary Examples of aspersion

And Tobin, by somehow completely ignoring the definition of the word "aspersion," said this wasn't one.
Commentary Mag Defends Bigoted Smears Against Palestinian NFL Player
Ali Gharib
July 17, 2013
I suspect that Obama, too—for all his personal angst over the Muslim aspersion—will be with squarely with me on this one.
Ignorant America
Tunku Varadarajan
August 30, 2010

Historical Examples of aspersion

She evidently regarded the statement as an aspersion upon myself.
Novel Notes
Jerome K. Jerome
But think not that I ever had any idea of casting an aspersion on you.
Kosciuszko
Monica Mary Gardner
Carrie felt this to contain, in some way, an aspersion upon her ability.
Sister Carrie
Theodore Dreiser
Mrs. Ercott smiled, and made no answer to an aspersion she had heard before.
The Dark Flower
John Galsworthy
But of this aspersion he was fully cleared, by the confession of the real father.
Biographia Scoticana (Scots Worthies)
John Howie

British Dictionary definitions for aspersion

aspersion

noun

a disparaging or malicious remark; slanderous accusation (esp in the phrase cast aspersions (on))
the act of defaming
rare the act of sprinkling, esp of water in baptism

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

Word Origin and History for aspersion

mid-15c., from Latin aspersionem (nominative aspersio) "a sprinkling," noun of action from past participle stem of aspergere "to sprinkle on," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + spargere "sprinkle, strew" (see sparse). Originally in theology, the shedding of Christ's blood. Modern sense of "bespattering with slander" first attested 1590s. To cast aspersions was in Fielding (1749).