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smear campaign

noun

a campaign to tarnish the reputation of a public figure, especially by vilification or innuendo.

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Idioms and Phrases

An attempt to ruin a reputation by slander or vilification, as in This press agent is well known for starting smear campaigns against her clients' major competitors . This phrase was first recorded in 1938 and uses smear in the sense of “an attempt to discredit” or “slander.”

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

They also called some of the backlash a "smear campaign" and said it was: "a transparent effort to derail the real conversation" away from their messages of "love" and support for Palestine.

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Kneecap have said on social media that they have "faced a co-ordinated smear campaign".

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Kneecap, made up of Liam Og Ó Hannaidh, Naoise Ó Caireallain and JJ Ó Dochartaigh, alleged on social media they have "faced a co-ordinated smear campaign", saying their shows have previously "called out" the conflict in Gaza.

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In other words, the Hegseth smear campaign continues, but now it takes on a different hue: The target this time is all Iran hawks.

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In an interview with the New York Times, Hogg said he knew that this would “anger a lot of people,” and predicted “a smear campaign against me” aiming to “destroy my reputation and try to force me to stop doing this.”

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

smear smearcase

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