ASPERSED

Verb

aspersed

simple past tense and past participle of asperse

Adjective

aspersed (comparative more aspersed, superlative most aspersed)

(heraldry) Having an indefinite number of small charges scattered over the surface.

Anagrams

• preassed, repassed, respades

Source: Wiktionary


As*persed", a.

1. (Her.)

Definition: Having an indefinite number of small charges scattered or strewed over the surface. Cussans.

2. Bespattered; slandered; calumniated. Motley.

ASPERSE

As*perse", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Aspersed; p. pr. & vb. n. Aspersing.] Etym: [L. aspersus, p. p. of aspergere to scatter, sprinkle; ad + spargere to strew. See Sparse.]

1. To sprinkle, as water or dust, upon anybody or anything, or to besprinkle any one with a liquid or with dust. Heywood.

2. To bespatter with foul reports or false and injurious charges; to tarnish in point of reputation or good name; to slander or calumniate; as, to asperse a poet or his writings; to asperse a man's character. With blackest crimes aspersed. Cowper.

Syn.

– To slander; defame; detract from; calumniate; vilify.

– To Asperse, Defame, Slander, Calumniate. These words have in common the idea of falsely assailing the character of another. To asperse is figuratively to cast upon a character hitherto unsullied the imputation of blemishes or faults which render it offensive or loathsome. To defame is to detract from a man's honor and reputation by charges calculated to load him with infamy. Slander (etymologically the same as scandal) and calumniate, from the Latin, have in common the sense of circulating reports to a man's injury from unworthy or malicious motives. Men asperse their neighbors by malignant insinuations; they defame by advancing charges to blacken or sully their fair fame; they slander or calumniate by spreading injurious reports which are false, or by magnifying slight faults into serious errors or crimes.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

19 April 2025

CATCH

(verb) grasp with the mind or develop an understanding of; “did you catch that allusion?”; “We caught something of his theory in the lecture”; “don’t catch your meaning”; “did you get it?”; “She didn’t get the joke”; “I just don’t get him”


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Coffee Trivia

Decaffeinated coffee is not caffeine-free. Studies from the National Institute of Health (US) have shown that virtually all decaf coffee types contain caffeine. A 236-ml (8-oz) cup of decaf coffee contains up to 7 mg of caffeine, whereas a regular cup provided 70-140 mg.

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