calumny
a false statement made to damage someone's reputation
Word origin: From Latin calumnia, false accusation or trickery.
Calumny in a sentence
Here are example sentences showing calumny in a sentence.
The senator denounced the report as a calumny invented by his rivals.
The biography defended its subject against decades of calumny spread by political rivals.
Using “calumny” well
Calumny is a false statement intended to damage a reputation, closely tied to slander. The harm is deliberate and reputational.
More GRE words starting with C
a small secret group plotting against a government or authority
having a hidden or mysterious meaning understood only by initiates
a harsh, jarring mixture of sounds
to obtain something by begging or sponging off others
falling off or shed at an early stage, especially of plant parts
to coax someone into doing something through flattery or persuasion
an event causing great damage, loss, or distress
misty, dim, or dark, and therefore obscure
Questions about “calumny”
See these words the way the GRE tests them.
Definitions in isolation do not stick. Sit a free, full-length GRE mock and meet this vocabulary inside real text completion and sentence equivalence questions, with your score and a worked solution for every answer.