as in libelous
causing or intended to cause unjust injury to a person's good name
defamatory remarks that were published in the newspaper
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Recent Examples of defamatory
Second, the article is not defamatory, according to the Journal’s filing.
—
Todd Spangler, Variety, 22 Sep. 2025
Per the outlet, his lawyers claim that the docuseries was defamatory and would infringe their right to a fair trial.
—Jordana Comiter, PEOPLE, 17 Sep. 2025
After a series of lawsuits, a judge found the author's claims defamatory.
—Evan Mealins, The Tennessean, 10 Sep. 2025
Meghan's team has been arguing the statements complained about were largely opinions or were substantially true, and therefore not defamatory.
—Jack Royston, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Sep. 2025
Earlier this year a Delaware judge ruled that Newsmax did air defamatory statements about Dominion by falsely accusing the company of rigging the 2020 election.
—Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 18 Aug. 2025
The allegations made against me were outrageous, unfounded and defamatory.
—Julie Hinds, Freep.com, 15 Aug. 2025
If the deepfake is defamatory, invades privacy, or results in emotional distress, individuals can pursue legal remedies under existing laws covering defamation and privacy violations.
—Richard Sill, Oc Register, 13 Aug. 2025
Their purpose for seeing the contract was to confirm that UMG has a contractual commitment to block any defamatory content in their artists’ music from coming out.
—Armon Sadler, VIBE.com, 3 Sep. 2019
Todd Spangler, Variety, 22 Sep. 2025
Per the outlet, his lawyers claim that the docuseries was defamatory and would infringe their right to a fair trial.
—Jordana Comiter, PEOPLE, 17 Sep. 2025
After a series of lawsuits, a judge found the author's claims defamatory.
—Evan Mealins, The Tennessean, 10 Sep. 2025
Meghan's team has been arguing the statements complained about were largely opinions or were substantially true, and therefore not defamatory.
—Jack Royston, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Sep. 2025
Earlier this year a Delaware judge ruled that Newsmax did air defamatory statements about Dominion by falsely accusing the company of rigging the 2020 election.
—Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 18 Aug. 2025
The allegations made against me were outrageous, unfounded and defamatory.
—Julie Hinds, Freep.com, 15 Aug. 2025
If the deepfake is defamatory, invades privacy, or results in emotional distress, individuals can pursue legal remedies under existing laws covering defamation and privacy violations.
—Richard Sill, Oc Register, 13 Aug. 2025
Their purpose for seeing the contract was to confirm that UMG has a contractual commitment to block any defamatory content in their artists’ music from coming out.
—Armon Sadler, VIBE.com, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defamatory
Adjective
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In recent weeks, though, her group has doubled in size, and while in the past there were only two or three posts per day, Mitchell and her new moderators now have to wade through 60-plus comments ranging from helpful to libelous.—
Brenna Ehrlich,
Rolling Stone,
25 Apr. 2025
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And in this age of clickbait journalism, even those members of the legacy media have resorted to libelous headlines and false reports to generate views.—
Zach Schonfeld,
The Hill,
24 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Engineers outfitted the device with a heater to melt ice in the winter, a customization that should improve accuracy during Arizona’s freeze-thaw cycles that have long created erroneous measurements.—
Hayleigh Evans,
AZCentral.com,
2 Oct. 2025
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Vedra and other debt law experts said a high rate of default judgments indicates a system that favors the pursuers over the pursued — and increases the chances someone will be harmed by an erroneous bill.—
Rae Ellen Bichell,
Fortune,
29 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Defamatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defamatory. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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