Character Assassination

Pronunciation: /ˈkærɪktər əˌsæˈsɪˌneɪʃən/

Definitions of character assassination

noun the act of making false or misleading statements about a person in order to harm their reputation

Example Sentences

A1 Character assassination is when someone says bad things about another person to make them look bad.

A2 Gossiping and spreading rumors can lead to character assassination.

B1 In politics, character assassination is often used to discredit opponents.

B2 The media plays a role in perpetuating character assassination through sensationalized stories.

C1 Character assassination can have serious consequences on a person's reputation and career.

C2 The legal system provides some protection against character assassination through defamation laws.

Examples of character assassination in a Sentence

formal The politician accused his opponent of engaging in character assassination during the debate.

informal I can't believe she's resorting to character assassination just to win the argument.

slang Don't listen to those rumors, it's just a bunch of character assassination.

figurative The negative comments about her work were like a form of character assassination.

Grammatical Forms of character assassination

• past tense: character assassinated
• plural: character assassinations
• comparative: more character assassinating
• superlative: most character assassinating
• present tense: character assassinate
• future tense: will character assassinate
• perfect tense: has character assassinated
• continuous tense: is character assassinating
• singular: character assassination
• positive degree: character assassination
• infinitive: to character assassinate
• gerund: character assassinating
• participle: character assassinated

Origin and Evolution of character assassination

First Known Use: 1886 year

Language of Origin: English

Story behind the word: The term 'character assassination' originated from the concept of attacking someone's reputation or credibility in a way that damages their public image or social standing.

Evolution of the word: Originally, the term was used in a literal sense to describe the act of destroying someone's character through false accusations or malicious gossip. Over time, it has evolved to also encompass more subtle forms of defamation, such as spreading rumors or manipulating information to tarnish someone's reputation.