LIBELED Synonyms: 40 Similar and Opposite Words

libeled

verb

variants or libelled

past tense of libel

as in smeared

to make untrue and harmful statements about the court decided that the newspaper's reportage of the former mayor, while irresponsible, did not constitute an effort to libel him

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for libeled

Verb

Apparently, ancient Greeks used breadsticks smeared with olive oil as a lubricant.

— Rachel Handler, Vulture, 22 Oct. 2026
Her makeup, crafted by Diana Shin, was equally as striking and overtly feminine, featuring pink shadow smeared in her crease, shimmer on her lids, falsies glued to her top lash line and burgundy lip liner accenting her lips.

— Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of smeared

Verb

From the very start, the students assigned as guards went on cruel power trips and repeatedly humiliated — if not psychologically tortured — the inmates, to the point that some of the prisoners suffered nervous breakdowns.

— Frank Landymore, Futurism, 29 Oct. 2026
The Packers come off an angry loss while the Panthers were humiliated on Sunday.

— Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 29 Oct. 2026

Definition of humiliated

Verb

That's not a reference to the reportedly amazing new documentary about disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes.

— Brian Sullivan, CNBC, 29 Oct. 2026
But for audiences outside North America, catching Nathan Fielder’s three-hour documentary about disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes — now expected to be a major player in awards season — has become a frustrating waiting game.

— Alex Ritman, Variety, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of disgraced

Verb

But earlier this year, a judge rejected Combs’ claim that he was defamed, noting in a 12-page decision that the documentary makers did not act irresponsibly or defame him.

— Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 7 Oct. 2026
Clemishire’s lawsuit, which was filed in 2025, claimed that Morris and other church leaders defamed her in an internal statement to staff and mischaracterized the abuse.

— Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of defamed

Verb

But in their more than 50 million years on Earth, these maligned creatures have developed some admirable qualities, too.

— Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 28 Oct. 2026
His lawyer has maintained his client’s innocence, saying Betancourt has been unfairly maligned because people associate him with a group of wealthy young Venezuelans, some of whom have been accused of wrongdoing, according to press reports.

— Cate Brown, ProPublica, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of maligned

Verb

Some of this was exacerbated by going to Duke, of course, which has a history of some of its best players being vilified nationwide.

— Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 30 Sep. 2026
But Timothy Leary’s version became the dominant idea of psychedelics, and when President Ronald Reagan’s War on Drugs began, psychedelics were vilified as the gateway to ruin.

— Claire Hoffman, Rolling Stone, 21 Sep. 2026

Definition of vilified

Verb

News of the briefing leaked, and the senators lashed out at the FBI, saying their efforts to scrutinize the Biden family had been discredited and falsely linked to Russian disinformation.

— Eric Tucker, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2026
The regime discredited the uncorroborated claims by having state media release photos of the 42-year-old dictator touring a clothing and footwear exhibition in Pyongyang with his wife and teenage daughter Kim Ju Ae.

— Anna Coren, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of discredited

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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libel

libeled

libeler

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“Libeled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/libeled. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of libeled

verb

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