defamation
defamation Lexical Profile
defamation Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The action of damaging the good reputation of someone through false statements; in law, the offense of making false and harmful statements about another person, encompassing both slander (spoken) and libel (written).
"The public official filed a civil lawsuit for defamation after the newspaper printed unverified allegations of corruption."
Word Nuance & Usage
In legal contexts, 'defamation' is the overarching term for false statements that harm a reputation; 'slander' specifically refers to spoken or transient defamation, whereas 'libel' refers to written or published defamation.
• Rhymes for defamation
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the 14th century from Old French diffamacion and Medieval Latin diffamationem, derived from Latin diffamare ('to spread abroad, ruin the reputation of'), from dis- ('away') and fama ('report, rumor, reputation').