cast aspersions

English

Pronunciation

• Audio(General Australian):

  (file)

Verb

castaspersions(third-person singular simple presentcasts aspersions,present participlecasting aspersions,simple past and past participlecast aspersions)

1. (idiomatic)To makedamagingorspitefulremarks.

   Don'tcast aspersionson me, or on my patriotism.

   • 1911,Joseph Conrad,Under Western Eyes‎^[1]:

     “You arecasting aspersions,”remonstrated Peter Ivanovitch, “which as far as you are concerned—” “No!” Razumov interrupted without heat. “Indeed, I don’t want tocast aspersions,but it’s just as well to have no illusions.” Peter Ivanovitch gave him an inscrutable glance of his dark spectacles, accompanied by a faint smile. “The man who says that he has no illusions has at least that one,” he said, in a very friendly tone.

   • 2014,Astra Taylor,chapter 2, inThe People's Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age,Henry Holt and Company,→ISBN:

     Dismissing stability as the refusal to innovate (or rather cut costs), business leaderscast aspersionson the steadying tenets of the first half of the twentieth century, including social provisions and job security.

   • 2024October 9, Goh Yan Han, “Death penalty exhibition rejected over ‘false and one-sided’ info, possible contempt of court: IMDA”, inThe Straits Times‎^[2]:

     However, the exhibition was refused classification as it “contains materials thatcast aspersionson the integrity of, and undermine public trust and confidence in public institutions involved in the administration of justice”.

Translations

make damaging or spiteful remarks

• Danish:bagvaske
• Dutch:met modder gooien naar
• Finnish:herjata(fi),panetella(fi)
• French:calomnier(fr),dire du mal(fr)
• German:verleumden(de),schmähen(de),diffamieren(de),schlechtreden(de)
• Maori:tīkai
• Persian:هتک حرمت
• Portuguese:sujar a imagem
• Spanish:calumniar(es),proferir improperios
• Swedish:förtala(sv),baktala(sv)