Muckrake

• POS: Noun, Verb (intransitive)
• HYPHEN: muck=rake

CIDE DICTIONARY

Muckrake, v. i. 

 To seek for, expose, or charge, especially habitually, corruption, real or alleged, on the part of public men and corporations.
"On April 14, 1906, President Roosevelt delivered a speech on “The Man with the Muck Rake,” in which he deprecated sweeping and unjust charges of corruption against public men and corporations. The phrase was taken up by the press, and the verb to muckrake, in the above sense, and the noun muckraker, to designate one so engaged, were speedily coined and obtained wide currency. The original allusion was to a character in Bunyan's “Pilgrim's Progress” so intent on raking up muck that he could not see a celestial crown held above him."  [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Muckrake, v.intr. search out and reveal scandal, esp. among famous people.

Derivative

muckraker n. muckraking n.

ROGET THESAURUS

Muckrake

Detraction

VB detract, derogate, decry, deprecate, depreciate, disparage, run down, cry down, backcap, belittle, sneer at, criticize, pull to pieces, pick a hole in one's coat, asperse, cast aspersions, blow upon, bespatter, blacken, vilify, vilipend, avile, give a dog a bad name, brand, malign, muckrake, backbite, libel, lampoon, traduce, slander, defame, calumniate, bear false witness against, speak ill of behind one's back, fling dirt, anathematize, dip the pen in gall, view in a bad light, impugn (disparage the motives of), assail, attack, oppose, denounce, accuse.