vilification
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of vilification
First recorded in 1600–10; equivalent to vili(fy) ( def. ) + -fication ( def. )
Explanation
If one politician speaks in a strongly insulting way about another politician, that's vilification. Vilification is saying something extremely derogatory about someone in speech or writing. When vilification is deliberate and false, it can be called libel (making a false written statement about someone) or slander (speaking that same false statement aloud). Vilification isn't always a lie, although it usually is—and sometimes vilification is used with the intention of inciting hatred of a person or group of people: "The website was shut down because of its vilification of immigrants."
Vocabulary lists containing vilification
Margaret Chase Smith's "Declaration of Conscience" (1950)
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New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964)
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Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She has them read books such as The Crucible and the Lord of the Flies to teach about the dangers of mass hysteria and group vilification.
From Slate • Dec. 5, 2025
There followed a statement by U.S. bishops condemning what they called the vilification and arbitrary treatment of migrants.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 27, 2025
“We are concerned by the state of contemporary debate and the vilification of immigrants. We are concerned about the conditions in detention centers and the lack of access to pastoral care.”
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 13, 2025
He suggests that his main priority has been to avoid the kind of "campaign of vilification" that the Sun unleashed on his predecessors Gordon Brown, Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn.
From BBC • Jun. 14, 2024
The historical record makes it perfectly clear, to be sure, that Jefferson was orchestrating the campaign of vilification, which had its chief base of operations in Virginia and its headquarters at Monticello.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
