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

Once maligned for taking on debt to fuel costly media acquisitions, AT&T has since sold off those units and refocused on core telecommunications activities.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 7, 2026

The idea came from C-SPAN Chief Executive Sam Feist, who produced the iconic — and often maligned — cable news debate program “Crossfire” during his years at CNN.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 4, 2025

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 • Nov. 21, 2025

The ball broke to Kenny McLean - occasionally maligned but one of Clarke's most-trusted lieutenants - with the Danes already on the canvas.

From BBC • Nov. 18, 2025

Foremost among them is the unfairly maligned passive voice: Laius was killed by Oedipus, as opposed to Oedipus killed Laius.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker