hủy báng
Definition
- Verb:
- To slander / to defame: To make false and damaging statements about someone, harming their reputation.
- To vilify / to speak ill of: To criticize someone in a harsh, abusive, or malicious manner.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Họ tìm cách hủy báng đối thủ chính trị. (They sought to slander their political opponent.)
- Đừng hủy báng người khác sau lưng họ. (Do not speak ill of others behind their backs.)
- Bài báo đó có nội dung hủy báng cá nhân tôi. (That article contains content that defames me personally.)
Advanced Usage
- Legal Context: "Hủy báng" can be associated with legal concepts like defamation (libel/slander).
- Công ty kiện vì tội hủy báng danh tiếng. (The company sued for defamation of reputation.)
Variants and Related Words
- Nói xấu (v): to speak badly of, to backbite. (A more common, colloquial synonym).
- Vu khống (v): to falsely accuse, to calumniate. (Often implies fabricating accusations).
- Phỉ báng (v): to libel, to slander. (Very close synonym, often used in formal/legal contexts).
Synonyms
- Defame: To damage the good reputation of someone.
- Vilify: To speak or write about in an abusively disparaging manner.
- Malign: To speak about someone in a spitefully critical manner.
Related Idioms
- Đâm bị thóc, chọc bị gạo: (Literal: To poke the rice basket, to poke the glutinous rice basket). An idiom meaning to stir up trouble or speak ill of people on both sides of a conflict. This relates to the concept of causing harm through speech, similar to "hủy báng."