calumny

KAL-uhm-nee/ˈkæləmni/

Verbcalumnies, calumnying, calumnied

2 meanings of calumny

1
damaging liesnoununcountable
Lies or twisted stories told about a person to make others think badly of them.
The rumors about the coach were nothing but calumny.
Her friends stood by her when she faced calumny at work.
Similarslander, defamation, libel, vilification, disparagement
2
accuse falselyverbrareformaltransitive
To say false and bad things about someone to hurt their good name.
His enemies tried to calumny him in the local paper.
His [Dominieus Dietrich's] memory has been basely calumnied by many German historians.
1849, Wolfgang Menzel, “The Great Elector”Here, calumnied means falsely accused to hurt his good name.
UsageThe usual verb is calumniate.
Similardefame, discredit, disparage, denigrate, badmouth

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Origin

From an old French word meaning "slander", which came from a Latin word for a false accusation.

Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

Calumny derives from an earlier French word meaning slander. en.wiktionary.org
The French word derives from Latin. en.wiktionary.org
The Latin source meant false accusation. en.wiktionary.org