poison-pen

American  

[poi-zuhn-pen] / ˈpɔɪ zənˈpɛn /

adjective

1. composed or sent maliciously, as a letter, usually anonymously and for the purpose of damaging another's reputation or happiness.

   The newspaper received a poison-pen letter alleging that the mayor was misusing city funds.

2. characterized by or given to the sending of poison-pen letters.

   a poison-pen campaign; a poison-pen writer.

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Etymology

Origin of poison-pen

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

The gamebook offers a variety of multimedia evidence—cartoonish photographs of the main characters, typewritten notes, news clippings, poison-pen letters—and then encourages the would-be detectives to flip back and forth until they reach their conclusion.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 14, 2025

There’s no murder here, but someone is leaving poison-pen letters, repellent drawings and destructive wreckage around the campus; Harriet, drawn back for an alumni weekend, gets pulled into the mystery.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 15, 2019

The Villemins alerted the police and began recording the calls, whereupon they stopped – and the poison-pen letters started.

From The Guardian • Aug. 28, 2017

Theroux retaliated with "Sir Vidia's Shadow," a poison-pen memoir about their friendship.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 28, 2016

The poison-pen puzzle, as it came to be known in the department, first bobbed up some six months before Allison tackled it.

From On Secret Service Detective-Mystery Stories Based on Real Cases Solved By Government Agents by Taft, William Nelson