bad-mouths

verb

present tense third-person singular of bad-mouth
as in dismisses
to express scornfully one's low opinion of she promptly bad-mouthed that awful movie to everyone she knew

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bad-mouths He also bad-mouths my son’s wife. — Abigail Van Buren, Boston Herald, 8 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bad-mouths
  1. dismisses
  2. minimizes
  3. criticizes
  4. diminishes
  5. disparages
  6. belittles
  7. denigrates
Verb
  • If your team is afraid to name real weaknesses, or if leadership dismisses uncomfortable truths, the analysis won’t do what it’s meant to do.
    — Nancy Padberg, Forbes.com, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Risks, but not existential ones Not everyone dismisses the risk quite so bluntly, though.
    — Clare Duffy, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of dismisses
Verb
  • It's also supported by Nvidia's G-Sync and AMD FreeSync Premium, which also minimizes gameplay latency, ensuring responsive feedback.
    — George Yang, PC Magazine, 6 Oct. 2026
  • The articles by Davidson and Craven in this sense exemplify a broader transphobic trend in the UK legacy media that minimizes or omits reference to the suffering of trans people.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of minimizes
Verb
  • One candidate promises to lower gas and grocery prices and criticizes the incumbent for not doing so (as if politicians can control the market).
    — Cal Thomas, Arkansas Online, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Reddington says the defense won the case and criticizes the holdout juror.
    — Eric Levenson, CNN Money, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of criticizes
Verb
  • By effectively raising the threshold in the playoffs, the NFL acknowledges that over-officiating diminishes the product and that marginal penalties should not decide its most important games.
    — Bobby Burack OutKick, FOXNews.com, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Subtracting LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges somewhat diminishes the overall talent, but Charlotte wanted Miller and Knueppel to usher them into the next era.
    — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of diminishes
Verb
  • But if a broadcaster publicly questions or disparages the viability of candidates, especially the front-runner, as Kevin Collins did on social media during BC’s search process, employers keep those receipts and consequences should be no surprise.
    — Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 9 Aug. 2026
  • Still, Kennedy disparages germ theory and attempts to undermine it with shaky arguments.
    — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 23 Apr. 2026
Definition of disparages
Verb
  • Will’s obsessive, put-upon mother, Susan (Tandi Wright), belittles Alice, dresses her down for her attire at the funeral, and forces her to wear heels that don’t fit, leaving her feet bloody.
    — Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 10 July 2026
  • Trump, on the other hand, belittles and degrades people every day.
    — Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 20 June 2026
Definition of belittles
Verb
  • For an administration that famously denigrates Chicago, Friday was a notably good day for federal money for the city’s historic status as a rail hub.
    — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 20 Aug. 2026
  • These two characters have maybe two minutes of screentime between them, and yet a certain portion of the internet, and Elon Musk, have raged, gnashed teeth and howled to the wind about the way this denigrates a Greek classic.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026
Definition of denigrates

Browse Nearby Words

bad-mouthing
bad-mouths
badness
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Cite this Entry

“Bad-mouths.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bad-mouths. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

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