poison-pen
adjective
poi·son-pen
ˈpȯi-zᵊn-ˈpen 
: written with malice and spite and usually anonymously
a poison-pen letter
Examples of poison-pen in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
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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
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
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'poison-pen.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Poison-pen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/poison-pen. Accessed 2 Jul. 2024.
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