slander

verb slan·der \ ˈslan-dər \

|Updated on: 6 Jun 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: slander in a Sentence

Definition of slander

slandered; slandering play \ˈslan-d(ə-)riŋ\

transitive verb

: to utter slander against : defame

—

slanderer

play \ˈslan-dər-ər\ noun

See slander defined for English-language learners

Examples of slander in a Sentence

She was accused of slandering her former boss.

Recent Examples of slander from the Web

Up until recently, any attempt to slander their names in international media would have felt random.

— connie wang, refinery29.com, "Inside The Fake News Campaign To Smear Russia's Biggest Fashion Influencers," 6 May 2018
And not to be slandered, one of the hotels confirmed with a Kickstarter backer that the rooms that had been booked through the Kickstarter rewards program had been canceled.

— clarkisha kent, The Root, "It Be Your Own People: On Universal FanCon and the Perversion of Community," 24 Apr. 2018
Badasch regarded herself as a Trump loyalist, and felt that she had been slandered.

— kathryn schulz, The New Yorker, "McMaster and Commander," 23 Apr. 2018
Sessions late Friday night fired McCabe, a little more than 24 hours before McCabe was set to retire - a move McCabe alleged was an attempt to slander him and undermine the ongoing special counsel investigation into the Trump campaign.

— carol d. leonnig and philip rucker, chicagotribune.com, "Trump's lawyer calls on Justice Department to immediately end Russia probe," 17 Mar. 2018
Conservatives tended to discredit Bannon and to dismiss Wolff's book as another attempt by the news media to slander the president.

— william cummings, USA TODAY, "The Bubble: Michael Wolff's book a 'gift' to Trump, liberals say," 4 Jan. 2018
The pope also asked forgiveness for accusing abuse victims of Bishop Juan Barros of slandering the bishop.

— james hohmann, Washington Post, "The Daily 202: Paul Ryan’s party is over," 12 Apr. 2018
These left wing loons crucified and slandered him over words that offended them.

— lisa gutierrez, kansascity, "Conservative Missouri radio host loses top show after Parkland tweet, angering fans | The Kansas City Star," 11 Apr. 2018
Some Village Board members threatened a lawsuit, contending Durkin’s campaign was slandering the suburb, while some constituents questioned if the board was in the tank for Straub.

— monique garcia, chicagotribune.com, "Illinois House Republican leader Durkin holds lead over rare primary challenger," 21 Mar. 2018

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

First Known Use of slander

13th century

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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slander Synonyms

Synonyms

asperse, blacken, defame, libel, malign, smear, traduce, vilify;

Near Antonyms

exalt, glorify, honor;

acclaim, applaud, commend, praise;

esteem, respect;

admire, regard;

adore, revere, venerate, worship;

discredit, disgrace, dishonor, shame;

abase, debase, degrade, humble, humiliate;

disdain, scorn;

Synonym Discussion of slander

malign, traduce, asperse, vilify, calumniate, defame, slander mean to injure by speaking ill of. malign suggests specific and often subtle misrepresentation but may not always imply deliberate lying.

- the most maligned monarch in British history

traduce stresses the resulting ignominy and distress to the victim.

- so traduced the governor that he was driven from office

asperse implies continued attack on a reputation often by indirect or insinuated detraction.

- both candidates aspersed the other's motives

vilify implies attempting to destroy a reputation by open and direct abuse.

- no criminal was more vilified in the press

calumniate imputes malice to the speaker and falsity to the assertions.

- falsely calumniated as a traitor

defame stresses the actual loss of or injury to one's good name.

- sued them for defaming her reputation

slander stresses the suffering of the victim.

- town gossips slandered their good name

slander

noun

Definition of slander

1 : the utterance of false charges or misrepresentations which defame and damage another's reputation

2 : a false and defamatory oral statement about a person — compare libel

—

slanderous

play \ˈslan-d(ə-)rəs\ adjective

—

slanderously

adverb

—

slanderousness

noun

See slander defined for English-language learners

See slander defined for kids

Examples of slander in a Sentence

She is being sued for slander.
He was a target of slander.
We've heard countless unsupported slanders about her.

Recent Examples of slander from the Web

The suit, filed Wednesday, accuses attorney Kurt Meyers and his firm, McGuire Woods, of libel and slander.

— jim morrill, charlotteobserver, "Former Cardinal CEO sues the man who investigated him," 30 May 2018
His counterclaim seeks damages for slander, intentional infliction of emotional distress.

— bruce vielmetti, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Mequon executive counters sex-tape privacy suit with his own claim of secret recordings," 29 May 2018
But instead of being held accountable in a court of law, the Washington Post just won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for their lies and slander against me and my family.

— leada gore, AL.com, "Roy Moore fundraising off Pulitzers won for stories about him, cites 'forces of evil'," 20 Apr. 2018
Many of the statistics cited in the speech were false, a slander on some of the most vulnerable people in the country, and Cosby seemed less concerned with black prosperity than with black respectability.

— adam serwer, The Atlantic, "How Cosby's 'Pound Cake Speech' Helped Lead to His Downfall," 26 Apr. 2018
Moore filed a counterclaim against Corfman on Tuesday on grounds of defamation and slander.

— paul gattis, AL.com, "Judge sets tentative trial date in Roy Moore lawsuit," 12 Apr. 2018
Trump has also called the allegations false, saying Jackson was the victim of slander.

— Washington Post, "Former congressman Jeff Miller emerges as a leading contender for Trump’s VA," 3 May 2018
Panikarov’s outrage offers a caricature of public memory in Russia, where any negative treatment of past events is interpreted as Western slander.

— sophie pinkham, The New Republic, "Why have post-Soviet countries embraced populism and nostalgia?," 3 May 2018
Trump has also called the allegations false, saying Jackson was the victim of slander.

— emily wax-thibodeaux and john wagner, chicagotribune.com, "Former congressman Jeff Miller emerges as a leading contender for Trump's VA," 2 May 2018

Origin and Etymology of slander

Middle English sclaundre, slaundre, from Anglo-French esclandre, alteration of escandle, from Late Latin scandalum stumbling block, offense — more at scandal

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

slander Synonyms

Other Legal Terms

actionable, alienable, carceral, chattel, complicity, decedent, larceny, malfeasance, modus operandi

SLANDER Defined for English Language Learners

slander

verb

Definition of slander for English Language Learners

: to make a false spoken statement that causes people to have a bad opinion of someone

slander

noun

Definition of slander for English Language Learners

: the act of making a false spoken statement that causes people to have a bad opinion of someone
: a false spoken statement that is made to cause people to have a bad opinion of someone

SLANDER Defined for Kids

slander

verb slan·der \ ˈslan-dər \

Definition of slander for Students

slandered; slandering

: to make a false and damaging statement against

slander

noun

Definition of slander for Students

: a false statement that damages another person's reputation

Law Dictionary

slander

transitive verb slan·der \ ˈslan-dər \

legal Definition of slander

: to utter slander against

—

slanderer

noun

slander

noun

legal Definition of slander

1 : defamation of a person by unprivileged oral communication made to a third party; also : defamatory oral statements

2 : the tort of oral defamation

sued his former employer for slander

— compare defamation, false light, libel

Note: An action for slander may be brought without alleging and proving special damages if the statements in question have a plainly harmful character, as by imputing to the plaintiff criminal guilt, serious sexual misconduct, or conduct or a characteristic affecting his or her business or profession.

—

slanderous

play \ˈslan-də-rəs\ adjective

—

slanderously

adverb

—

slanderousness

noun

Origin and Etymology of slander

Anglo-French esclandre, from Old French escandle esclandre scandal, from Late Latin scandalum moral stumbling block, disgrace, from Greek skandalon, literally, snare, trap