impugn
Americanverb (used with object)
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impugns,
present (3rd person singular)
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impugned,
past participle, past
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impugning
present participle
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:
"These are grave assertions that directly impugn the claimants' personal integrity, character, and professional reputation", Lim said, adding that this was a factor in the awarding of the damages.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
In the latter, he said he did not impugn the jurors — who were not present — but was advising the just-acquitted defendant to stay out of trouble.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
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
Their best approach would be to impugn the credibility of the witnesses on the cross-examination, with the most vulnerable witness being Michael Cohen.
From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2024
This is not at all to impugn Mr. Brisbane's motives, but merely to indicate on what slender strings such an editorial may depend.
From The International Jew The World's Foremost Problem by Henry Ford
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
“For people to say we’re somehow manipulating the system — I do take offense, because that impugns my integrity as a system operator.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2020
He also said it “tacitly impugns the integrity” of judges to suggest that they could not meet performance standards.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2018
Prominent Washington journalists, meanwhile, took pains to defend Ms. Sanders — earning their own opprobrium from some liberals who asked why reporters were sticking up for an administration that routinely impugns their work.
From New York Times ● Apr. 29, 2018
But there must always be two parties to a quarrel, and our statement has to be modified as soon as we consider what the scientific innovator impugns.
From The Unseen World and Other Essays by John Fiske
What they lacked was confidence that those results would be received as anything other than a provocation, with their motives impugned.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 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
Then he publicly impugned her honesty, her motives and even her sanity after she told the story publicly in a 2019 memoir.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 16, 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.
