Mudsling

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To make disparaging or damaging remarks about someone, often in a political context
2. to engage in a tactic aimed at defaming an individual's character or reputation
3. a practice frequently used in debates to undermine opponents through accusations rather than addressing issues

Etymology: Mudslinging is an old image: flinging dirt at a rival to smear them, a tactic that works because some of the mud sticks. The verb "mudsling" is not the original. It was formed by back-formation, a process in which speakers take a longer word, here "mudslinging", and treat its ending as if it were a suffix to strip off, leaving a shorter base to use as a verb. In this case the "-ing" was removed from "mudslinging", so "mudsling" came to mean the same thing as the longer word it was cut from. The shorter form is useful because English verbs are often clipped this way when speakers want a brisk, action-focused term. Readers will recognise it most readily in political reporting, where a candidate who "mudslings" an opponent is accused of trading personal attacks instead of arguments.

Synonyms: slander, defame, malign, libel, smear

Antonyms: praise, commend, applaud, endorse, support