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libelous
adjective
li·bel·ous
ˈlī-b(ə-)ləs
variants
or libellous
: constituting or including a libel : defamatory
a libelous statement
Examples of libelous in a Sentence
libelous statements about a celebrity for which the tabloid was sued
Recent Examples on the Web
And finally, modern far-right terrorists still frequently invoke the same libelous assertion that white women must be protected from licentious Black men.
—TIME, 14 May 2024
The lawsuit alleges the principal and the district violated the California Education Code, which provides strong protections for student journalism and free speech with few exceptions, such as content that is obscene, libelous or slanderous.
—Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2024
If there were whispers that something more perverse or calamitous might have transpired, they were branded libelous, sensationalist, or otherwise untrue.
—Rebecca Panovka, Harper's Magazine, 9 Feb. 2024
Picasso supporters attacked the book, calling it libelous and vindictive.
—Harrison Smith, Washington Post, 6 June 2023
Gottlieb has previously defended her methods and called ProPublica's reporting libelous but not identified any inaccuracies in the reporting.
—Hannah Dreyfus, ProPublica, 26 May 2023
The second is that the websites cannot be held legally responsible for most of what their users post online, shielding the companies from lawsuits over libelous speech, extremist content and real-world harm linked to their platforms.
—David McCabe, New York Times, 19 Jan. 2023
The jury agreed with the plaintiff’s accusation that five quotations in my article were false and libelous.
—Janet Malcolm, The New York Review of Books, 24 Sep. 2020
More recently, The Washington Post, CNN and NBC settled lawsuits with the family of a Kentucky teen who alleged that coverage of his 2019 encounter with a Native American protester at the Lincoln Memorial was libelous.
—Sarah Ellison, Washington Post, 29 Mar. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'libelous.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1619, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near libelous
Cite this Entry
“Libelous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/libelous. Accessed 16 Jun. 2024.
Kids Definition
Legal Definition
libelous
adjective
li·bel·ous
variants
also libellous
: constituting or including libel
a libelous magazine article
More from Merriam-Webster on libelous
Nglish: Translation of libelous for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of libelous for Arabic Speakers
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