badmouth

badmouth — verb

1. to tell other people unpleasant things about someone, usually in a way that make

1.動詞及物B2
釋義

to tell other people unpleasant things about someone, usually in a way that makes them look bad and may damage their reputation

例句

Amira badmouthed her colleague to the supervisor after the project failed.

badmouth + someone + to + someone (recipient of gossip)

The department head asked everyone to stop badmouthing one another during meetings.

stop + badmouthing (gerund after prevention verbs)

同義詞
  • speak ill of

    more neutral in register; a phrase rather than a single verb

  • slander

    formal and legal; implies making false statements that can be punished by law

  • disparage

    formal register; less emotionally charged than badmouth

  • run down

    also informal; more common in British English than American English

反義詞

文法句型

badmouth + someone

badmouth + someone + to + someone

用法筆記

Always transitive — the person being spoken about is the direct object. Say 'badmouthed her boss', NOT 'badmouthed about her boss'. Common in informal workplace gossip and social backbiting contexts. Less common in formal writing.

常見錯誤

❌She badmouthed about him to the manager.
✅She badmouthed him to the manager.
💡badmouth is transitive and takes the person as a direct object without a preposition.
❌He badmouthed his colleague very much.
✅He constantly badmouthed his colleague.
💡badmouth is not used with 'very much' as an intensifier; use adverbs like 'constantly', 'always', or 'openly' instead.