calumniate kə-ˈləm-nē-ˌāt verb
: charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone
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The word calumniate has appeared in one article on NYTimes.com in the past year, on Sept. 6 in the Opinion column “How Vladimir Putin Falls” by Bret Stephens:
When regimes like Putin’s realize they cannot co-opt, corrupt, calumniate, cow, or coerce their opponents, what usually comes next is a decision to kill them. The risk that this could happen to Sobol or Navalny is terrifyingly real, not least because Putin has so many underworld friends willing to do his presumptive bidding without asking for explicit orders.
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