🔊 Listen to the word Calumny

KAL-um-nee

Definition

(noun) The making of false and damaging statements about someone; deliberate defamation of character.

Example

The calumny spread through the firm before anyone thought to check whether a single word of it was true — and by then, the damage was permanent.

Word Origin

Calumny derives from the Latin calumnia, meaning “false accusation” or “trickery,” rooted in calvi — “to trick” or “to deceive.” It entered English in the 15th century through Old French, used in legal and moral contexts to describe the deliberate fabrication of damaging falsehoods about another person. Unlike slander, which can be accidental or careless, calumny implies intent — the calculated deployment of lies as weapons against a specific target.