scandalmongering means the spreading of salacious gossip. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 82 out of 100.
Why “scandalmongering” is a great word
SCANDALMONGERING — [Noun] The act or practice of spreading scandalous or salacious gossip. From scandalmonger (from scandal + monger, from Old English mangere, "trader, dealer") + -ing (suffix forming nouns of action). Unlike muckraking, which implies a journalistic crusade against corruption, or rumor-mongering, which trades in any unverified tale, scandalmongering deals exclusively in the currency of moral disrepute. It is the whispered aside at a soirée, the feverish rustle of a tabloid page, and the pixelated glee of a comment thread—a greased engine that runs on the heat of other people’s disquiet, proving society often polices its boundaries not with law, but with whispers.
noun
- The spreading of salacious gossip.