vilify
VIL-uh-fyeverbMeaning to speak about someone as if they were evil
Memory hook VILE-ify: paint someone as a VILLAIN. Rex hangs a poster calling the new kid a lunch-stealing villain, though it is not true at all; he is trying to vilify him.
Old stories often vilify wolves, but real wolves rarely bother people.
In context Instead of answering the new coach’s ideas, a few angry parents tried to vilify her, calling her selfish and dishonest without offering a shred of proof.
Similar malign, slander, smear, denigrate
Opposite praise, defend, honor
From Late Latin vilificare, “to make worthless,” from vilis (cheap, worthless).