Vilify
/ˈvɪlɪfaɪ/noun
To speak or write about someone in an abusively critical way.
Did you know?Vilify comes from Latin roots tied to *vilis*—“cheap, worthless”—so the insult began as a way of turning a person into something spiritually and socially “low-valued.”
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
vilis
“cheap, worthless, of low value”
Late Latin
Latin
vilificare
“to make cheap or of little worth”
Middle French
Old French
vilifier
“to debase, disparage”
15th Century
English
vilifien
“to lower in worth; to defame”
Modern English
English
vilify
“to speak about abusively or contemptuously”