vilify

[ vil-uh-fahy ]

/ ˈvɪl əˌfaɪ /

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verb (used with object), vil·i·fied, vil·i·fy·ing.

to speak ill of; defame; slander.

Obsolete. to make vile.

Nearby words

Origin of vilify

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English word from Late Latin word vīlificāre. See vile, -fy

SYNONYMS FOR vilify

1. depreciate, disparage, calumniate, malign, abuse, asperse, blacken.

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ANTONYMS FOR vilify

1. commend.

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Related formsvil·i·fi·ca·tion, nounvil·i·fi·er, nounvil·i·fy·ing·ly, adverbun·vil·i·fied, adjective

Can be confusedvilify villainize

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for vilify

But it remains a moral crime to vilify good cops who have made the city safe, saving thousands of lives.
Protesters Slimed This Good Samaritan Cop|Michael Daly|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And there is the additional fear in these types of cases that the public will vilify the victim, not a celebrity wrongdoer.
Here’s What She’d Tell Bill Cosby Today|Dean Obeidallah|December 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
With few Yankees left to vilify, Venezuela continues its slow motion spin into disrepair.
Venezuela’s Audio Hoax Sees Chavez Speaking From the Grave|Mac Margolis|October 8, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Rather than vilify Republicans for their defense of the wealthy, he returned again to trying to win the intellectual high ground.
Is This Thing On?|Daniel Stone|October 6, 2011|DAILY BEAST

Once upon a pre-feminist time, it was more common to vilify the woman.
Bedding the Boss|Tracy Quan|October 5, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Byron had sworn to love man and nature, and to glorify their works, on the very instant he seeks to degrade and vilify.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol. 64 No. 396 October 1848|Various
Lagarde ('Deutsche Schriften,' p. 71) abuses him as a politician might vilify an opponent.
Outspoken Essays|William Ralph Inge
The Levitical party in Madrid have, in the meantime, spared no effort to vilify me.
Letters of George Borrow|George Borrow
There's a vile plot laid between you to delude—to vilify—to destroy me.
Three Courses and a Dessert|Anonymous
The former found it easier to exterminate than to civilize; the latter to vilify than to discriminate.
The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.|Washington Irving

British Dictionary definitions for vilify

vilify

/ (ˈvɪlɪˌfaɪ) /

verb -fies, -fying or -fied (tr)

to revile with abusive or defamatory language; malignhe has been vilified in the tabloid press

rare to make vile; debase; degrade

Derived Formsvilification (ˌvɪlɪfɪˈkeɪʃən), nounvilifier, noun

Word Origin for vilify

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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for vilify

vilify

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.

vilify

verb (used with object), vil·i·fied, vil·i·fy·ing.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of vilify

Examples from the Web for vilify

vilify

verb -fies, -fying or -fied (tr)

Word Origin for vilify

vilify