vilify
[vil-uh-fahy]
- to speak ill of; defame; slander.
- Obsolete. to make vile.
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Origin of vilify
Synonyms
See more synonyms for vilify on Thesaurus.com1. depreciate, disparage, calumniate, malign, abuse, asperse, blacken.
Antonyms
1. commend.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for vilify
Contemporary Examples
But it remains a moral crime to vilify good cops who have made the city safe, saving thousands of lives.
And there is the additional fear in these types of cases that the public will vilify the victim, not a celebrity wrongdoer.
With few Yankees left to vilify, Venezuela continues its slow motion spin into disrepair.
Rather than vilify Republicans for their defense of the wealthy, he returned again to trying to win the intellectual high ground.
Once upon a pre-feminist time, it was more common to vilify the woman.
Historical Examples
"Even that may be more pardonable than to vilify a good one," said Mary.
The Martins Of Cro' Martin, Vol. I (of II)Charles James Lever
Oh, fling him into a crater; that will teach him to vilify his betters.
If you are his friend, why do you vilify and slander him behind his back?
The MaskArthur Hornblow
If they were not impartial, this man would never have dared to vilify them.
A Sketch of the Life of the late Henry CooperWilliam Cooper
The vulgar, wherever he passed, were instigated to reproach and vilify him.
vilify
- to revile with abusive or defamatory language; malignhe has been vilified in the tabloid press
- rare to make vile; debase; degrade
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Word Origin
C15: from Late Latin vīlificāre, from Latin vīlis worthless + facere to make
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for vilify
v.
mid-15c., "to lower in worth or value," from Late Latin vilificare "to make cheap or base," from Latin vilis "cheap, base" (see vile) + root of facere "to make" (see factitious). Meaning "to slander, speak evil of" is first recorded 1590s. Related: Vilified, vilifying.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper