Vilifier

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An individual who unfairly disparages someone or something by casting negative light on their character or actions in a vehement manner
2. A person who unjustly tarnishes the reputation of another through harsh and vindictive criticism or slander
3. Someone who speaks badly about others, damaging their reputation or character with harsh words

Etymology: Vilifier is a plain formation: the verb "vilify" with the agent suffix "-er" added to it. "Vilify" itself came into English from Late Latin "vilificare", a compound of "vilis" ("cheap, worthless") and "facere" ("to make"), so the word's core idea is literally "to make cheap." That sense of lowering someone's worth carries straight through to a vilifier, a person who makes others seem worthless through public abuse. The ending has a longer road. The suffix descends from Latin "-arius", which English received through Old French "-ier", and it reached Middle English as "-er" alongside the native Old English "-ere", an agent ending that already attached to many verbs. English therefore built vilifier from a Latin verb and a suffix that arrived partly through French and partly from its own Germanic stock.

Synonyms: slanderer, defamer