Adjacent Words

Aspersion definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

ASPER'SION, n.
1. A sprinkling, as of water or dust, in a literal sense.
2. The spreading of calumnious reports or charges, which tarnish reputation, like the bespattering of a body with foul water.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a disparaging remark; "in the 19th century any reference to female sexuality was considered a vile aspersion"; "it is difficult for a woman to understand a man's sensitivity to any slur on his virility" [syn: aspersion, slur]
2: an abusive attack on a person's character or good name [syn: aspersion, calumny, slander, defamation, denigration]
3: the act of sprinkling water in baptism (rare) [syn: aspersion, sprinkling]

Merriam Webster's

noun Date: circa 1587 1. a sprinkling with water especially in religious ceremonies 2. a. a false or misleading charge meant to harm someone's reputation <cast aspersions on her integrity> b. the act of making such a charge ; defamation

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. Phrases and idioms: cast aspersions on attack the reputation or integrity of. Etymology: L aspersio (as ASPERSE, -ION)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Aspersion As*per"sion, n. [L. aspersio, fr. aspergere: cf. F. aspersion.] 1. A sprinkling, as with water or dust, in a literal sense. Behold an immersion, not and aspersion. --Jer. Taylor. 2. The spreading of calumniations reports or charges which tarnish reputation, like the bespattering of a body with foul water; calumny. Every candid critic would be ashamed to cast wholesale aspersions on the entire body of professional teachers. --Grote. Who would by base aspersions blot thy virtue. --Dryden.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Calumny, detraction, censure, slander, defamation, abuse, vituperation, obloquy, reproach, reflection, backbiting, reviling, traducing. See preceding verb.

Moby Thesaurus

abuse, adverse criticism, affront, affusion, agape, allegation, animadversion, aspergation, asperges, atrocity, auricular confession, backbiting, bad notices, bad press, baptism, baptismal gown, baptismal regeneration, baptistery, baptizement, bar mitzvah, bas mitzvah, brickbat, calumny, captiousness, carping, cavil, caviling, celebration, censoriousness, chrismal, christening, circumcision, confession, confirmation, contempt, contumely, criticism, cut, defamation, despite, detraction, disparagement, dump, enormity, exception, faultfinding, flak, flout, flouting, font, gibe, hairsplitting, high celebration, hit, home thrust, hostile criticism, humiliation, hypercriticalness, hypercriticism, immersion, imputation, incense, indignity, infusion, injury, innuendo, insinuation, insult, invective, invocation, invocation of saints, jeer, jeering, kiss of peace, knock, lampoon, lesser litany, libel, litany, love feast, lustration, mock, mockery, muck, nagging, niggle, niggling, nit, nit-picking, obloquy, offense, outrage, overcriticalness, pasquinade, pax, personal remark, personality, pestering, pettifogging, priggishness, processional, put-down, quibble, quibbling, rap, reciting the rosary, reflection, reproachfulness, scandal, scoff, scurrility, skit, slam, slander, slur, sly suggestion, sprinkling, squib, stricture, suggestion, swipe, taking exception, taunt, telling of beads, the confessional, the confessionary, total immersion, trichoschistism, uncomplimentary remark, vituperation, whispering campaign