Meanings
present singular third person traduces · participle present traducing · participle past traduced · past traduced
- transitiveTo malign a person or entity by making malicious and false or defamatory statements.First known use 1580s
Someone must have traduced Joseph K., for without having done anything wrong he was arrested one fine morning.
1935, W. & E. Muir, transl., The Trial, translation of Der Prozess by Franz Kafka5 more examples
This heauy headed reueale eaſt and weſt / Makes vs traduſt, and taxed of other nations, / They clip vs drunkards, and with Swiniſh phraſe / Soyle our addition […]
c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: […] (Second Quarto), London: […] I[ames] R[oberts] for N[icholas] L[ing] […], published 1604, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv]Well I'll not debate how far Scandal may be allowable—but in a man I am sure it is always contemtable.—We have Pride, envy, Rivalship, and a Thousand motives to depreciate each other—but the male-slanderer must have the cowardice of a woman before He can traduce one.
1777, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The School for Scandal, I.iI am earnestly desirous then, my dear Sir, that you should let the world into the traits of your genuine character, as civil broils may otherwise tend to disguise or traduce it.
1771–1790, Benjamin Franklin, “The Autobiography [Part 2]”, in John Bigelow, editor, Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. […], Philadelphia, Pa.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott & Co., published 1868, →OCLC, page 203“The chief men of the Jews became his enemies and traduced him to the principal persons in the town, hoping to make him ashamed or afraid.”
1881, The Gospel in All Lands, page 176Clayton interrupted him. “Stop!” he cried. “Stop! What manner of cur are you that you traduce the character of a good woman whom we believe dead! God! I was a fool ever to let you live—you are not fit to live even in this vile land.”
1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 201Synonyms: defame, libel, slander, assassinate, asperse, backbite, badmouth, befoul
- archaictransitiveTo pass on (to one's children, future generations etc.); to transmit.First known use mid-16th c. to mid-18th c.
However therefore this complexion was first acquired, it is evidently maintained by generation, and by the tincture of the skin as a spermatical part traduced from father unto son […].
1650, Thomas Browne, chapter X, in Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], →OCLC - archaictransitiveTo pass into another form of expression; to rephrase, to translate.First known use 1530s to mid-19th c.
1 more example
From Davenant down to Dumas, from the Englishman who improved Macbaeth to the Frenchman who traduced into the French of Paris four acts of Hamlet, and added a new fifth act of his own, Shakespeare has been disturbed in a way he little thought of when he menacingly provided for the repose of his bones.
1865 Mar, “The Last of the Tercentenary”, in Temple Bar, volume XIII
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo malign a person or entity by making malicious and false or defamatory statements.
verbTo pass on (to one's children, future generations etc.); to transmit.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Translations
Ancient Greek βλασφημέω
- βλασφημέω (blasphēméō)to malign by making malicious and false or defamatory statements
Bulgarian клеветя, злословя
- клеветя (klevetja)to malign by making malicious and false or defamatory statements
- злословя (zloslovja)to malign by making malicious and false or defamatory statements
- предавам (predavam)to pass on; to transmit
Chinese Mandarin 誹謗 /诽谤, 詆毀 /诋毁
- 誹謗 /诽谤 (fěibàng)to malign by making malicious and false or defamatory statements
- 詆毀 /诋毁 (dǐhuǐ)to malign by making malicious and false or defamatory statements
Finnish panetella, siirtää
- panetellato malign by making malicious and false or defamatory statements
- siirtääto pass on; to transmit
- sovittaato pass into another form of expression
French calomnier, diffamer
- calomnierto malign by making malicious and false or defamatory statements
- diffamerto malign by making malicious and false or defamatory statements
- traduireto pass into another form of expression
German verleumden
- verleumdento malign by making malicious and false or defamatory statements
Italian tradurre
- tradurreto pass into another form of expression
Māori whakakinokino, whakahahani
- whakakinokinoto malign by making malicious and false or defamatory statements
- whakahahanito malign by making malicious and false or defamatory statements
- whakarōrikito malign by making malicious and false or defamatory statements
- whakahariharitaeto malign by making malicious and false or defamatory statements
- kehito malign by making malicious and false or defamatory statements
- whakakinoto malign by making malicious and false or defamatory statements
Norwegian bakvaske
- bakvasketo malign by making malicious and false or defamatory statements
Portuguese traduzir
- traduzirto pass into another form of expression
Romanian defăima
- defăimato malign by making malicious and false or defamatory statements
Russian клевета́ть, злословить
- клевета́ть (klevetátʹ)to malign by making malicious and false or defamatory statements
- злословить (zloslovitʹ)to malign by making malicious and false or defamatory statements
- наговаривать (nagovarivatʹ)to malign by making malicious and false or defamatory statements
- оговаривать (ogovarivatʹ)to malign by making malicious and false or defamatory statements
- передава́ть (peredavátʹ)to pass on; to transmit
Spanish calumniar, difamar
- calumniarto malign by making malicious and false or defamatory statements
- difamarto malign by making malicious and false or defamatory statements
- legarto pass on; to transmit
- traducirto pass into another form of expression
Turkish iftira etmek
- iftira etmekto malign by making malicious and false or defamatory statements
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with traduce
Anagrams
Cite this entry
traduce. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/traduce
“traduce.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/traduce. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “traduce,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/traduce.
Source: traduce on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.