asperse

tr.v., -persed, -pers·ing, -pers·es.

1. To spread false or damaging charges or insinuations against. See synonyms at malign.
2. To sprinkle, especially with holy water.

[Middle English, to besprinkle, from Latin aspergere, aspers- : ad-, ad- + spargere, to strew.]

aspersive as·per'sive (-sĭv, -zĭv) adj.

(a-SPURS)

verb tr.
1. To spread false and malicious charges against someone.
2. To sprinkle with holy water.

Etymology
From Latin aspergere (to sprinkle), from ad- (toward) + spargere (to strew)

Usage
"Then and in the war years that followed, EM Forster was a quiet but doughty spokesman for civil liberties, a fact forgotten now that it is fashionable to slight his fiction and asperse the nature of his sympathies for Britain's colonised." — AC Grayling; The Last Word On - Freedoms; The Guardian (London, UK); Nov 24, 2001.

"Mr. Moon and his wife, Hak Ja Han, called the 'true parents' of mankind by his Unification Church, aspersed the couples with water as they passed in rows to the strains of Mendelssohn's Wedding March." — Paul L. Montgomery; 4,000 Followers of Moon Wed at the Garden; The New York Times; Jul 2, 1982.

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verb

To make defamatory statements about: backbite, calumniate, defame, malign, slander, slur, tear down, traduce, vilify. Law libel. Idioms: cast aspersions on. See attack/defend, crimes, law.

A cynical view of the world by Ambrose Bierce

v.t.

Maliciously to ascribe to another vicious actions which one has not had the temptation and opportunity to commit.

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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The verb has one meaning:

Meaning #1: charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone
  Synonyms: defame, slander, smirch, denigrate, calumniate, smear, sully, besmirch

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