Definition

1. Verb:
   • To defame / to slander: To speak falsely or maliciously about someone in order to damage their reputation. This is the core meaning, indicating an act of verbal attack on someone's character.
   • To vilify / to disparage: To speak of someone in a harshly critical and disrespectful manner, often unjustly.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Không nên bỉ báng người khác. (One should not slander others.)
  • Họ bỉ báng anh ấy là kẻ hèn nhát. (They vilified him as a coward.)
  • Bị bỉ báng công khai, ông ấy quyết định kiện. (Having been publicly defamed, he decided to sue.)

Advanced Usage

• The word "bỉ báng" carries a strong negative connotation of contempt and deliberate harm. It is often used in formal or literary contexts concerning morality, honor, and reputation.
• It implies the spreading of damaging statements, not just private criticism.

Variants and Related Words

• Phỉ báng (v): A more common synonym with the same meaning: to slander, to defame.
  • Hành vi phỉ báng có thể bị truy tố. (Slanderous behavior can be prosecuted.)

Synonyms

• Defame: To damage the good reputation of someone.
• Slander: To make a false spoken statement damaging to a person's reputation.
• Vilify: To speak or write about in an abusively disparaging manner.
• Disparage: To regard or represent as being of little worth.

Related Idioms

• While "bỉ báng" itself is not typically part of a fixed idiom, the concept is central to phrases about reputation.
  • Làm nhục danh dự: to dishonor / to bring shame upon one's honor. (This relates to the result of defamation.)

1. (ít dùng) như phỉ báng