Adjacent Words

Asperse definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

ASPERSE, v.t. aspers'. [L. aspergo, aspersus, of ad and spargo, to scatter.]
1. To bespatter with foul reports or false and injurious charges; to tarnish in point of reputation, or good name; to slander or calumniate; as, to asperse a poet of his writings; to asperse a character.
2. To cast upon.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone; "The journalists have defamed me!" "The article in the paper sullied my reputation" [syn: defame, slander, smirch, asperse, denigrate, calumniate, smear, sully, besmirch]

Merriam Webster's

transitive verb (aspersed; aspersing) Etymology: Latin aspersus, past participle of aspergere, from ad- + spargere to scatter — more at spark Date: 15th century 1. sprinkle; especially to sprinkle with holy water 2. to attack with evil reports or false or injurious charges Synonyms: see malign

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. (often foll. by with) attack the reputation of; calumniate. Etymology: ME, = besprinkle, f. L aspergere aspers- (as AD-, spargere sprinkle)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Asperse As*perse", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Aspersed; p. pr. & vb. n. Aspersing.] [L. aspersus, p. p. of aspergere to scatter, sprinkle; ad + spargere to strew. See Sparse.] 1. To sprinkle, as water or dust, upon anybody or anything, or to besprinkle any one with a liquid or with dust. --Heywood. 2. To bespatter with foul reports or false and injurious charges; to tarnish in point of reputation or good name; to slander or calumniate; as, to asperse a poet or his writings; to asperse a man's character. With blackest crimes aspersed. --Cowper. Syn: To slander; defame; detract from; calumniate; vilify. Usage: To Asperse, Defame, Slander, Calumniate. These words have in common the idea of falsely assailing the character of another. To asperse is figuratively to cast upon a character hitherto unsullied the imputation of blemishes or faults which render it offensive or loathsome. To defame is to detract from a man's honor and reputation by charges calculated to load him with infamy. Slander (etymologically the same as scandal) and calumniate, from the Latin, have in common the sense of circulating reports to a man's injury from unworthy or malicious motives. Men asperse their neighbors by malignant insinuations; they defame by advancing charges to blacken or sully their fair fame; they slander or calumniate by spreading injurious reports which are false, or by magnifying slight faults into serious errors or crimes.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. Vilify, slander, calumniate, traduce, defame, disparage, slur, censure, impugn, malign, revile, lampoon, backbite, attack, abuse, blacken, blemish, besmirch, bespatter, befoul, defile, run down, detract from, speak ill of, accuse falsely, reflect upon, cast reflections upon, animadvert upon, cast reproach upon, vituperate, cast obloquy upon.

Moby Thesaurus

affront, calumniate, christen, defame, denigrate, deride, immerse, insult, libel, mock, offend, scandal, scandalize, slander, slur, sprinkle, taunt, traduce