Meanings
nounsmear campaign (plural smear campaigns)
plural smear campaigns
- idiomaticAn effort to damage or call into question someone's reputation, by propounding negative propaganda.
His opponent said it was all a smear campaign to make him look bad in the eyes of the voters.
1 more example
Fisher read the article, became incensed, and started a smear campaign against the brothers’ business which proved immensely damaging.
1993, “The Ballad Of Climie Fisher”, in Trouble Over Bridgwater, performed by Half Man Half Biscuit
Synonyms & antonyms
Also see
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 惡意營銷 /恶意营销
- 惡意營銷 /恶意营销 (èyì yíngxiāo)negative propaganda
Danish smædekampagne
- smædekampagnenegative propaganda
Dutch lastercampagne
- lastercampagnenegative propaganda
Finnish mustamaalaus, loanheitto
- mustamaalausnegative propaganda
- loanheittonegative propaganda
- lokakampanjanegative propaganda
French campagne de diffamation
- campagne de diffamationnegative propaganda
German Hetzkampagne, Schmutzkampagne
- Hetzkampagnenegative propaganda
- Schmutzkampagnenegative propaganda
- Rufmordkampagnenegative propaganda
Hungarian lejárató kampány, lejáratókampány
- lejárató kampánynegative propaganda
- lejáratókampánynegative propaganda
- rágalomhadjáratnegative propaganda
- sárdobálásnegative propaganda
- hecckampánynegative propaganda
Italian campagna diffamatoria
- campagna diffamatorianegative propaganda
Polish kampania oszczerstw
- kampania oszczerstwnegative propaganda
Portuguese campanha difamatória
- campanha difamatórianegative propaganda
Russian клеветни́ческая кампа́ния
- клеветни́ческая кампа́ния (klevetníčeskaja kampánija)negative propaganda
Spanish campaña de desprestigio
- campaña de desprestigionegative propaganda
Swedish smutskastningskampanj, nedsvärtningskampanj
- smutskastningskampanjnegative propaganda
- nedsvärtningskampanjnegative propaganda
- smutskampanjnegative propaganda
Cite this entry
APA
smear campaign. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/smear%20campaign
MLA
“smear campaign.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/smear%20campaign. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “smear campaign,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/smear%20campaign.
Source: smear campaign on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.