backbite
verb
- to attack the character or reputation of someone who is not present
Wiktionary
noun
Etymology: From Middle English bakbiten, bacbiten, equivalent to back- + bite. Cognate with Icelandic bakbíta (“to backbite, vilify”).
- One who engages in backbiting; a backbiter.
verb
Etymology: From Middle English bakbiten, bacbiten, equivalent to back- + bite. Cognate with Icelandic bakbíta (“to backbite, vilify”).
- To make spiteful slanderous or defamatory statements about someone.
“They beguiled the time by backbiting and intriguing against each other in a foolish kind of way.”
“Gumshoe: You're not gonna get me to backbite a woman with a whip. No way.”
- To attack from behind or when out of earshot with spiteful or defamatory remarks.
- To speak badly of an absent individual.