Vilifying

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To criticize or denounce someone in a way that causes significant harm to their reputation and character
2. Making false and damaging remarks about a person to harm their public image
3. Expressing unjust and severe criticism aimed at lowering someone's reputation

Etymology: The verb "vilify" is built from "vile" and the suffix "-ify", which turns an adjective into a verb meaning "to make" or "to treat as" something. Its Late Latin ancestor, "vīlificāre", was formed the same way from the Latin "vilis", meaning cheap, common or worthless, which is also the source of "vile". So at its root, to vilify someone is to make them worthless or base in the eyes of others. The English word preserves that sense of lowering someone's standing. The "-ing" ending simply carries the action forward, so "vilifying" describes the ongoing process of attacking a person's reputation with abuse or slander. "Vilipend", a related English word meaning to treat with contempt, shares the same Latin-based idea of cheapening someone.

Synonyms: defaming, slandering, denigrating

Antonyms: praising, exalting