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calumniate

[kuh-luhm-nee-eyt]
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verb (used with object), ca·lum·ni·at·ed, ca·lum·ni·at·ing.
  1. to make false and malicious statements about; slander.
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Origin of calumniate

1545–55; < Latin calumniātus (past participle of calumniārī to accuse falsely, trick), equivalent to calumni(a) calumny + -ātus -ate1
Related formsca·lum·ni·a·tion, nounca·lum·ni·a·tor, nounnon·ca·lum·ni·at·ing, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for calumniator

Historical Examples

  • Acting in the capacity of calumniator, he seeks out and defames the innocent.

    Is the Devil a Myth?

    C. F. Wimberly

  • The calumniator, Martin Gonzalez, was punished where he had most sinned.

    The Cid Campeador

    Antonio de Trueba

  • An honest drunkard is better than a calumniator of the dead.

  • But I denounce him as a calumniator of my country; a maligner of this nation.

  • The preacher was denounced as seditious, and as a calumniator of light and reason.

    The Jesuits, 1534-1921

    Thomas J. Campbell

British Dictionary definitions for calumniator

calumniate

verb
  1. (tr) to slander
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Derived Formscalumniable, adjectivecalumniation, nouncalumniator, 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

Word Origin and History for calumniator

n.

1690s, from Latin calumniator, agent noun from calumniari (see calumniate (v.)).

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calumniate

v.

1550s, from Latin calumniatus, past participle of calumniari "to accuse falsely," from calumnia "slander, false accusation" (see calumny). Related: Calumniated; calumniating.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper