vilify
Americanverb (used with object)
-
vilifies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
vilified,
past participle, past
-
vilifying
present participle
-
to speak ill of; defame; slander.
- Synonyms:
- blacken, asperse, abuse, malign, calumniate, disparage, depreciate
- Antonyms:
- commend
-
Obsolete. to make vile.
verb
-
to revile with abusive or defamatory language; malign
he has been vilified in the tabloid press
-
rare to make vile; debase; degrade
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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vilifysimple
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vilifiessimple
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have vilifiedperfect
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has vilifiedperfect
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am vilifyingprogressive
-
are vilifyingprogressive
-
is vilifyingprogressive
-
have been vilifyingperfect progressive
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has been vilifyingperfect progressive
Past
-
vilifiedsimple
-
had vilifiedperfect
-
was vilifyingprogressive
-
were vilifyingprogressive
-
had been vilifyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of vilify
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English word from Late Latin word vīlificāre. See vile, -fy
Explanation
To vilify someone is to spread nasty stories about them, whether true or not. The verb vilify comes from the same root as the word vile and is a negative word if ever there was one! One way to remember the word is to think about how it sounds — like the word villain (which is unrelated and comes from villa). This suggests that when you vilify someone, you make them sound villainous. So avoid spreading vile words that vilify another and make him or her seem like a villain.
Vocabulary lists containing vilify
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Power Suffix: -fy
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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.
See Examples For:
That led Judge Perry to retort: “You are significantly undercutting your mea culpa here by standing behind the charges and continuing to vilify these particular defendants.”
From Slate ● May 22, 2026
Despite testing positive, another reader scolded, I “continue to vilify vaccine skeptics generally, and … Kennedy specifically. Truly fascinating.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2025
Then they start to actually vilify the regulations, and Frank Church becomes persona non grata, and all of a sudden it's like, "Wait, what? Didn't we learn something?"
From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2024
“Ricky Cobb was a productive citizen of this community, and we will not let you vilify him,” family attorney Bakari Sellers said at a news conference.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 17, 2024
But unlike the majority of the country, the Freedom Writers were not quick to vilify Klebold and Harris.
From "The Freedom Writers Diary" by The Freedom Writers
But the organisation says, in reality, it "glorifies thinness and vilifies weight gain" and "promotes disordered eating behaviours."
From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2025
“If these narratives are left unchecked, we become a society that dismisses and vilifies those with expertise and experience relevant to the challenges we face,” the authors write.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2024
"The departure of Meghan and Harry from royal ranks has been far more damaging to the monarchy than the coverage that vilifies them understands or accepts," she told Reuters.
From Reuters ● Dec. 15, 2022
It drives competing narratives, ideas and values underground and vilifies all who do not speak in the national cant that replaces civil discourse and debate.
From Salon ● Mar. 24, 2022
We have seen throughout that Knox vilifies Mary of Guise in cases where she is blameless.
From John Knox and the Reformation by Andrew Lang
“I always felt that way and I was especially vilified for it.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
He recalled in one piece how he was vilified by the press at the time for supporting a pro-LGBT council motion.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
My whole life, they had been vilified by my mom’s side of the family.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2026
Her boyfriend was cleared but her landlord, Christopher Jefferies, was arrested, held far longer than was customary for someone never actually charged with a crime, and vilified in the press.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 31, 2025
She had seen her mentor Howard Fuller vilified.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
All claims have been denied by China, with foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian stating: "We firmly oppose peddling China spy narratives and vilifying China."
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2025
No more cutting carbs, no more vilifying sugar.
From Salon ● May 6, 2025
No matter what you try — talking about it, not talking about it, vilifying the ex, coming up with fun distractions — they remain consumed with grief.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 1, 2024
We can have a discussion about spending without vilifying Republicans.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 23, 2024
Adams read in the newspapers that Jefferson had compiled “a Magazine of slips of newspapers, and pamphlets, vilifying, calumniating and defaming you.”
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.
