smear campaign

American  

noun

1. a campaign to tarnish the reputation of a public figure, especially by vilification or innuendo.

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smear campaign Idioms  

1. An attempt to ruin a reputation by slander or vilification, as in This press agent is well known for starting smear campaigns against her clients' major competitors. This phrase was first recorded in 1938 and uses smear in the sense of “an attempt to discredit” or “slander.”

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

smear campaign

She says she has faced a coordinated smear campaign against her, which has at times invoked her son's death and accusations that she is betraying his memory.

From Barron's ● Oct. 24, 2026

Jordan Bardella denied writing the messages, dismissed the report as a smear campaign, and filed a defamation lawsuit against Mediapart.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

Jennifer Pritchard, 47, from Tredegar in Blaenau Gwent, created a Facebook page called "Jen's Justice" where she led a two-month smear campaign against Stephen Pritchard, a South Wales Police officer.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

In an open letter, signed by more than 150 filmmakers, academics, writers and even a few rabbis, the group denounced “the outrageous smear campaign against our respected colleague Mark Ruffalo.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026

Murky, speculative stuff, a smear campaign on a dead woman.

From "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins

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