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When you impugn, you hazard repugnant pugnacity. More simply put, you risk insulting someone so greatly that they may punch you in response. The belligerent implications of impugn are to be expected in a word that derives from the Latin verb pugnare, which means "to fight." In its earliest known English uses in the 1300s, impugn could refer to a physical attack (as in, "the troops impugned the city") as well as to figurative assaults involving verbal contradiction or dispute. Over time, though, the sense of physical battling has become obsolete and the "calling into question" sense has predominated. As you might expect, pugnare also gave English other fighting words, including repugnant and pugnacity.
Examples of impugn in a Sentence
Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 12 June 2024
My patriotism and that of people in other border communities cannot be impugned.
—Jonathan Dekel-Chen, New York Daily News, 6 Mar. 2024
Toward the end of the hearing, Morrissey became heated in responding to the defense arguments, alleging that Spiro had impugned her conduct to the court.
—Gene Maddaus, Variety, 17 May 2024
She was later called out for impugning her Democratic colleagues and had to rephrase her criticism.
—Mary Jo Pitzl, The Arizona Republic, 10 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for impugn 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'impugn.' 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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“Impugn.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impugn. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.
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impugn
verb
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