Definition: The act of defaming or speaking ill of someone or something.

Etymology: Vilification is derived from “vilify.” A word of similar meaning to vilify first appeared in Late Latin, vilificare, to make cheap or base; to esteem of little value, then to be modified in Latin to the adjective vilis, eventually making its way into English in the 1590s as vilifen, and later as a related verb, vilipend.

In a Sentence

The vilification of the defendant continued unabated.

Paul did not deserve the vilification he received. The vilification of women must be challenged.