poison-pen

adjective

poi·​son-pen ˈpȯi-zᵊn-ˈpen How to pronounce poison-pen (audio)
: written with malice and spite and usually anonymously
a poison-pen letter

Examples of poison-pen in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Each story came out in recent days before reports surfaced that his own mother sent him a poison-pen email accusing him of being a serial abuser of women and something of a cad. Philip Elliott, TIME, 4 Dec. 2024 The story of this poison-pen scandal is, in part, about the decline of a historical British way of life and social structure that had been tied up with the country’s sense of self as an imperial power. Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 29 Mar. 2024 Would anyone care enough about a poison-pen letter to perform a DNA test? Lucy Sante, The New Yorker, 11 Nov. 2023 Sharrock sees parallels in the film’s theme with today’s social media trolling replacing poison-pen letters. Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 8 Sep. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1911, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of poison-pen was in 1911

Dictionary Entries Near poison-pen

Cite this Entry

“Poison-pen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/poison-pen. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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