1
as in libels
to make untrue and harmful statements about
of course I want to win the election, but I refuse to defame my opponent in order to do so
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in accuses
archaic
to make a claim of wrongdoing against
so the harmless old woman was defamed of witchcraft
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defames
Verb
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The lawsuit accuses Altman and his top lieutenant, Greg Brockman, of double-crossing Musk by straying from the San Francisco company’s founding mission to be an altruistic steward of a revolutionary technology.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
12 May 2026 -
Burbank's campaign website accuses the other Democrat on the ballot, pastor William Forbes, of trying to get on the ballot in November to divert votes from Osborn.—
Caitlin Yilek,
CBS News,
12 May 2026
Verb
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This chilling, starkly beautiful ambient piece draws Nebraska’s marginal whispers to the forefront and smears them across the picture plane.—
Sasha Geffen,
Pitchfork,
10 Mar. 2026
-
The five pieces offer, in turn, biomorphic hints of de Kooning, the ragged shapes of Clyfford Still, the bold geometries of Ellsworth Kelly, the paint smears of Gerhard Richter, and something that looks like toothpaste squeezed onto an orange peel.—
Zachary Fine,
New Yorker,
22 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Véliz indicts the process of prediction on two levels.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
8 May 2026
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Israeli court indicts the brother of Shin Bet chief David Zini for smuggling tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of cigarettes into Gaza during the war.—
Julia Frankel,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Incompetent leadership humiliates us on the global stage.—
Lucas Robinson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 May 2026
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And the President doesn’t seem to mind if Vance humiliates himself running errands.—
Amy Davidson Sorkin,
New Yorker,
18 Apr. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Defames.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defames. Accessed 17 May. 2026.
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