Definition of mudslingernext
as in attack dog
one who makes harsh, personal attacks against opponents a local hot-button issue that has turned some normally mild-mannered neighbors into letter-writing mudslingers

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of mudslinger He isn’t known as a dogface solider boy or mudslinger in South Miami. Alex Butler, miamiherald, 28 Apr. 2017 If that lady is a 101-year-old movie legend, any would-be mudslingers best take care, her attorney said this week. Christie D'zurilla, latimes.com, 2 Sep. 2017 Social media platforms were a critical battleground during the campaign, with political mudslingers waging cyberwar with few legal constraints after the government failed to act on calls for a new law to protect democracy in the internet age. Washington Post, 12 Dec. 2019 In 2010, when the group launched ahead of Barack Obama’s reelection campaign, Brock had imposed a set of self-regulations on the staff that would cultivate an air of respectability for the mudslingers. Gabriel Debenedetti, Daily Intelligencer, 20 May 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mudslinger
Noun
  • Pulte, the 38-year-old director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, is best known for his role as a partisan attack dog for the president.
    Eric McDaniel, NPR, 11 June 2026
  • Activists detained when their flotilla attempted to breach Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza say they have been mistreated at the hands of Israeli soldiers, describing beatings, tasers and attack dogs.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2026
Noun
  • Justice Kagan has sometimes been viewed as a strategist rather than a polemicist, who tries to forge agreements with the Court’s more moderate conservative members.
    Jeannie Suk Gersen, New Yorker, 2 May 2026
  • Whereas Schafer was a polemicist, wanting to impose his ideas onto society, Lockwood is interested in a personal symbiosis with nature, beginning with the humble belief that one is open to change.
    Joshua Minsoo Kim, Pitchfork, 28 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • That night, Valencia, the vessel’s captain, set out with a crew of nine from Jaramijó, Ecuador, for what was expected to be a typical three-week voyage, casting lines for shark, marlin, and tuna.
    Will Freeman, New Yorker, 30 June 2026
  • The group stage would be a series of blowouts, the sharks would devour the minnows.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 28 June 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Mudslinger.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mudslinger. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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