Rumormongering

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The process of circulating unproven claims or narratives to sway public opinion
2. The act of promoting speculative information or hearsay that lacks credible support
3. The act of passing on information that has not been confirmed as true

Etymology: "Monger" is an old English word meaning a dealer or trader, as in "fishmonger" or "warmonger," and it has been attached to nouns to describe someone who peddles or promotes the thing named. Pairing it with "rumor" gives a compound that casts the spreader of gossip as a merchant hawking goods in the marketplace of talk. The "-ing" ending turns the person-noun into the name for the activity itself. The sense of "monger" as a seller is the older, literal one, and the figurative use of compounds such as "rumormonger" builds directly on it. Because "monger" by itself already implies buying and selling, adding it to "rumor" suggests that unverified claims are being traded for attention or influence. The word therefore names not just gossip but the active promotion of it.

Synonyms: gossiping, tattling, slander, spreading rumors

Antonyms: truth-telling, fact-checking