mudslinging

American  

[muhd-sling-ing] / ˈmʌdˌslɪŋ ɪŋ /

noun

1. an attempt to discredit one's competitor, opponent, etc., by malicious or scandalous attacks.

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mudslinging British  

/ ˈmʌdˌslɪŋɪŋ /

noun

1. casting malicious slurs on an opponent, esp in politics

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• mudslinger
  noun

Etymology

Origin of mudslinging

First recorded in 1880–85; mud + sling ¹ ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

This week’s mudslinging comes courtesy of the initial House documents—from the Epstein estate, or those the Justice Department didn’t mind parting with.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 20, 2025

"It's not been our finest 24 hours in government," one senior figure in government acknowledged to me, after mudslinging one way and another, some in public, plenty more in private.

From BBC • Nov. 13, 2025

Campaign mudslinging is a political tradition as old as politics itself.

From New York Times • Mar. 25, 2024

Is there any clarity to come out of this mudslinging?

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 16, 2024

One piece of the mudslinging was the Coffin Handbill, a famous campaign poster published by Adams supporters that showed rows of coffins and listed Jackson’s “bloody deeds”—his duels, the deaths of militiamen under his command.

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis