Asperse

//əˈspɝs// verb

verb ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Verb

1
To sprinkle or scatter (liquid or dust).
"a hand in San Marco's font / aspersed him with foul canal water"
2
charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone wordnet
3
To falsely or maliciously charge someone.
"It hath always been my way to baffle reproach with silence; though I cannot but observe the disingenuous proceedings of this gentleman, who is not content to asperse my writings, but hath wounded, through my sides, those eminent and worthy citizens, Mr. John Morphew, and Mr. Bernard Lintot."

Synonyms

besmirch calumniate defame defame denigrate slander

Antonyms

glorify promote respect speak well of

Example

"a hand in San Marco's font / aspersed him with foul canal water"

Etymology

From Latin aspersus, past participle of aspergere.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.