maligned

American  

[muh-lahynd] / məˈlaɪnd /

adjective

1. spoken ill of; defamed or slandered.

   I pointed to my unweeded yard full of bees and waxed rhapsodic about the benefits of the maligned dandelion.

   Considered by many to be a usurper and murderer, Richard III is one of the most maligned kings in history.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of malign.

Other Word Forms

• unmaligned adjective

Etymology

Origin of maligned

malign ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

"I became a meme, I was the most maligned HR manager in HR history," Ms Cabot told The Times.

From BBC

Few parts of American corporations today are more important—and more maligned—than human-resource management.

From The Wall Street Journal

The operation elevated the global standing of the SBU, long maligned as a corrupt successor of the Soviet KGB shot through with traitors.

From The Wall Street Journal

Wyeth and Maxfield Parrish—retained critical and popular esteem, but most were ignored by middle-class tastemakers or maligned as conduits of cultural degeneration.

From The Wall Street Journal

The previously maligned ADP gauge has confirmed the plateauing of payrolls outside the government sector.

From Barron's