libel

noun

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li·bel | \ ˈlī-bəl

Definition of libel

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : a written statement in which a plaintiff in certain courts sets forth the cause of action or the relief sought

b archaic : a handbill especially attacking or defaming someone

2a : a written or oral defamatory statement or representation that conveys an unjustly unfavorable impression

b(1) : a statement or representation published without just cause and tending to expose another to public contempt

(2) : defamation of a person by written or representational means

(3) : the publication of blasphemous, treasonable, seditious, or obscene writings or pictures

(4) : the act, tort, or crime of publishing such a libel

libel

verb

li·bel | \ ˈlī-bəl

libeled or libelled; libeling or libelling\ ˈlī-b(ə-)liŋ

Definition of libel (Entry 2 of 2)

intransitive verb

: to make libelous statements

transitive verb

: to make or publish a libel against (see libel entry 1)

Other Words from libel Synonyms Example Sentences Learn More About libel

Examples of libel in a Sentence

Noun To meet the Supreme Court's definition of libel involving a public figure, a quotation must not only be made up or materially altered. It must also defame the person quoted, and damage his or her reputation or livelihood … — Jane Gross, New York Times, 5 June 1993 It is relevant to note that in 1987 the suit against Ms. Malcolm was dismissed … in a narrow ruling that stated that even if the quotations were "false and mischievous," Ms. Malcolm's alterations did not represent malicious intent and therefore did not constitute libel. — Fred W. Friendly, New York Times Book Review, 25 Feb. 1990 The above is not only a flat lie but a political libel which may possibly damage me. Publish it at your peril … — Bernard Shaw, letter, 16 Sept. 1949 In their tiresome addiction to this use of alleged, the newspapers, though having mainly in mind the danger of libel suits, can urge in further justification the lack of any other single word that exactly expresses their meaning; but the fact that a mud-puddle supplies the shortest route is not a compelling reason for walking through it. — Ambrose Bierce, Write It Right, 1909 He sued the newspaper for libel. The newspaper was found guilty of libel. The newspaper's attorneys argued that the article was not a libel. Verb And in Oklahoma last year, lawyers filed a class-action suit against a group supporting tort reform, saying they had libeled trial lawyers. — Judith Miller, New York Times, 11 June 1996 Government officials, he observed, were public servants who remained accountable to the people and therefore could not be libeled for their performance in office. — Leonard W. Levy, Emergence of a Free Press, 1985 The jury found that the article libeled him. the court decided that the newspaper's reportage of the former mayor, while irresponsible, did not constitute an effort to libel him See More

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Heard was back on the witness stand to defend herself against her ex-husband's libel allegations. — Matthew Barakat, ajc, 5 May 2022 McCann’s parents later won the equivalent of roughly $717,000 in libel damages from Express Newspapers, a British tabloid newspaper group that had run stories baselessly accusing the couple of having killed their daughter. — Zachary Snowdon Smith, Forbes, 21 Apr. 2022 His $50 million libel battle with Heard picked up in Virginia court the week of the film's release. — Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 19 Apr. 2022 Opinions are typically protected from a libel action and this case was no exception. — Jack Greiner, The Enquirer, 22 Mar. 2022 Another reason that London’s oligarchs have been able to forestall a day of reckoning is their tendency to pursue punishing legal action against people who challenge them, exploiting a legal system that is notably friendly toward libel plaintiffs. — Patrick Radden Keefe, The New Yorker, 17 Mar. 2022 First, we were charged with criminal libel by the Russian Ministry of the Interior for an article about corruption in Putin's inner circle. — Opinion By: Roman Badanin, CNN, 15 Mar. 2022 Sueyoshi found in a tentative ruling that the complaint met two of the three standards required to allege defamation and libel but failed to prove that Scripps acted with malice, a necessary showing. — Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Mar. 2022 That’s one of the glimmers of Sullivan-esque thinking in early U.S. libel cases, Schafer argues. — Washington Post, 14 Mar. 2022 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb The jury of nine began deliberations on Friday afternoon and on Tuesday said the newspaper did not libel the former vice presidential nominee through a 2017 editorial. — Marina Pitofsky, USA TODAY, 16 Feb. 2022 Its self-righteous blinders have led it to reflexively libel even accomplished scholars. — A. J. Caschetta, National Review, 26 July 2021 The real industry is the network of academics, lawyers, activists, and funders who libel and slander critics of Islamism, even those who cautiously stipulate between Islam and Islamism. — A. J. Caschetta, National Review, 26 July 2021 Krull said one of the main things to consider is whether Dakich libeled or defamed anyone. — Dana Hunsinger Benbow, Indianapolis Star, 25 Mar. 2020 In 1964, the US Supreme Court, in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, raised the standard for public officials to prove they’d been libeled in their official capacity by news organizations. — BostonGlobe.com, 9 Mar. 2020 There’s no law against defaming, slandering or libeling the dead. — Danielle Bacher, Billboard, 3 Apr. 2019 Gross was threatened with the loss of his Polish state honors and prosecution for ostensibly libelling the nation. — Masha Gessen, The New Yorker, 23 Sep. 2019 Gibson’s Bakery filed a lawsuit against the college in 2017, claiming the school and an administrator there hurt their business and libeled them. — Jane Morice | Jmorice@cleveland.com, cleveland, 17 Nov. 2019 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'libel.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Learn More About libel

From the Editors at Merriam-Webster

Dictionary Entries Near libel

libeccio

libel

libelant

Statistics for libel

Last Updated

21 May 2022

Cite this Entry

“Libel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/libel. Accessed 26 May. 2022.

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More Definitions for libel

libel

noun

li·bel | \ ˈlī-bəl

Kids Definition of libel

(Entry 1 of 2)

: the publication of a false statement that hurts a person's reputation

libel

verb

libeled or libelled; libeling or libelling

Kids Definition of libel (Entry 2 of 2)

: to hurt a person's reputation by publishing a false statement

libel

noun

li·bel | \ ˈlī-bəl

Legal Definition of libel

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : complaint sense 1 —used especially in admiralty and divorce cases

2a : a defamatory statement or representation especially in the form of written or printed words specifically : a false published statement that injures an individual's reputation (as in business) or otherwise exposes him or her to public contempt

b : the publication of such a libel

c : the crime or tort of publishing a libel — see also single publication rule, New York Times Co. v. Sullivan — compare defamation, slander

Note: Although libel is defined under state case law or statute, the U.S. Supreme Court has enumerated some First Amendment protections that apply to matters of public concern. In New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, the Court held that in order to recover damages a public person (as a celebrity or politician) who alleges libel (as by a newspaper) has to prove that “the statement was made with ‘actual malice’ — that is, with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not” in order to recover damages. The Court has also held that the states cannot allow a private person to recover damages for libel against a media defendant without a showing of fault (as negligence) on the defendant's part. These protections do not apply to matters that are not of public concern (as an individual's credit report) and that are not published by a member of the mass media. A libel plaintiff must generally establish that the alleged libel refers to him or her specifically, that it was published to others, and that some injury (as to reputation) occurred that gives him or her a right to recover damages (as actual, general, presumed, or special damages). The defendant may plead and establish the truth of the statements as a defense. Criminal libel may have additional elements, as in tending to provoke a breach of peace or in blackening the memory of someone who is dead, and may not have to be published to someone other than the person libeled.

libel

transitive verb

libeled also libelled; libeling also libelling

Legal Definition of libel (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : to make or publish a libel against : to hurt the reputation of by libel respondent's complaint alleged that he had been libeled by statements in a full-page advertisement — New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964)

2 : to proceed against in law by filing a libel (as against a ship or goods) several French ships were libeled in Boston— J. K. Owens