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Showing results for personal attack. Search instead for Arson-attack.

personal attack

NOUN
character assassination
Synonyms
WEAK
ad hominem blackening dirty politics dirty pool dirty tricks hatchet job muckraking mudslinging name-calling slanderous attack smear smear campaign
NOUN
smear campaign
Synonyms
WEAK
character assassination defamation defamation of character dirty politics dirty pool dragging one's name through the mud injury of reputation malicious defamation mudslinging negative campaign negative campaigning slander whispering campaign

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Asked about the personal attack by Keane, Carrick said: "It didn't bother me."

From BBC • Jan. 16, 2026

Bondi’s insults got the most press, because she would respond to any hard question by bringing up some irrelevant personal attack on whatever Democrat had her dead to rights.

From Salon • Oct. 13, 2025

“The abovementioned concerns and beliefs are not a personal attack on Captain Khasaempanth or the numerous executives named in my investigation, nor am I an obstructionist or malcontent,” Morris wrote in his March 2023 email.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 18, 2024

“To summarize, this is an operation to harass me by land, sea and air to try and make me give up politics through a personal attack on my wife,” Sánchez wrote.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 24, 2024

Furious over what he considered an undeserved personal attack on his integrity, Stith set off alarms about Operation Breakthrough’s misuse of federally funded cars.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson