Definition of defamation
law
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Examples of defamation in a Sentence
The article was full of lies and defamations.
accused the newspaper columnist of defamation of character
Recent Examples of defamation from the Web
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These families join others who have now collectively filed a total of three defamation lawsuits against Jones since April, according to a report from The New York Times.
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The defamation lawsuit filed in Connecticut Wednesday mirrors one filed by the familes of two other Sandy Hook victims in Texas in April.
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Trump faces another defamation suit filed by adult-film actress Stormy Daniels, who says the president smeared her in a tweet that mocked her for saying that a man once physically threatened her on his behalf.
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Moore's lawsuit in Etowah County Circuit Court comes amid his efforts to raise money for legal fees to fend off a defamation suit against him brought by Corfman.
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Lost in the hoopla surrounding Bill Cosby’s criminal conviction is an interesting defamation suit brought by one of his accusers.
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The motion also says the Krawatskys’ allegations of defamation are vague.
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On Wednesday, six families of Sandy Hook school shooting victims — four students and two educators — and an FBI agent sued conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, the founder of Infowars, for defamation, according to CNN.
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In three separate lawsuits — the most recent was filed on Wednesday in Superior Court in Bridgeport, Conn. — the families of eight Sandy Hook victims as well as an F.B.I. agent who responded to the shooting seek damages for defamation.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'defamation.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
Harming someone's reputation in speech with falsehoods is known as slander, and doing the same thing in writing is known as libel (which sometimes includes speech as well). Any ordinary citizen who can claim to have suffered harm as a result of such defamation may sue. So why aren't politicians suing all the time? Because an exception is made for "public persons" (a category that includes most other celebrities as well), who must also prove that any such statement was made with "reckless disregard for the truth". And although, even by that standard, public persons are defamed all the time, most of them have decided that it's better to just grin and bear it.
Origin and Etymology of defamation
see defame
NEW! Time Traveler
First Known Use: 14th century
in the meaning defined above
See Words from the same yeardefamation Synonyms
Synonyms
aspersing, blackening, defaming, libel, libeling (or libelling), maligning, slander, smearing, traducing, vilification, vilifying;
Near Antonyms
Related Words
abuse, invective, vituperation;
attack, censure, criticism, denunciation;
belittlement, denigration, disparagement;
hatefulness, malevolence, malice, maliciousness, malignancy, malignity, meanness, nastiness, spite, spitefulness, spleen, venom, viciousness;
Other Legal Terms
DEFAMATION Defined for English Language Learners
Definition of defamation for English Language Learners
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: the act of saying false things in order to make people have a bad opinion of someone or something : the act of defaming someone or something
Law Dictionary
legal Definition of defamation
1
: communication to third parties of false statements about a person that injure the reputation of or deter others from associating with that person — see also libel, slander, New York Times Co. v. Sullivan — compare disparagement, false light, slander of title
2
: a defamatory communication
- every repetition of the defamation is a publication
- —W. L. Prosser and W. P. Keeton
Learn More about defamation
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See words that rhyme with defamation Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for defamation Spanish Central: Translation of defamation Nglish: Translation of defamation for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of defamation for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about defamation
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