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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for libeled
  1. smeared
  2. slandered
  3. humiliated
  4. disgraced
  5. defamed
  6. maligned
  7. vilified
  8. discredited
Verb
  • In 2012 an angler pulled a brown bullhead out of a lake on the Vermont-Quebec border with what looked like tar smeared across its skin.
    — John Drake, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026
  • The women went to the bathroom to mop the bottoms of their eyes, where their makeup was smeared from crying.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 July 2026
Definition of smeared
Verb
  • In court filings, David Brouillette said that his second ex-wife had slandered him.
    — Julia Ainsley, NBC news, 17 July 2026
  • Now, the ultimate question of whether Walters slandered Miller will return to the district court.
    — Dale Denwalt, Oklahoman, 29 Jan. 2026
Definition of slandered
Verb
  • The Fijians were tough and clinical in a huge turnaround from last weekend when they were humiliated by England 73-8 in Liverpool.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 18 July 2026
  • The campaign of strikes, mostly targeting oil refineries and other energy infrastructure, has humiliated the Kremlin, snarled the logistics of its military, and forced many millions of Russians to suffer through rampant shortages of fuel.
    — Simon Shuster, The Atlantic, 17 July 2026
Definition of humiliated
Verb
  • The scenes with Congressman Daniel Keene and disgraced investigative reporter Helen Drew are especially intense.
    — Noel Murray, Vulture, 24 July 2026
  • Shunned and disgraced, Francesca handed her baby to the nuns.
    — Bill Whitaker, CBS News, 12 July 2026
Definition of disgraced
Verb
  • In 2025, that anonymous woman filed a countersuit, alleging in turn that the Tates defamed her.
    — Kat Tenbarge, Rolling Stone, 20 July 2026
  • Trump separately was found civilly liable by another Manhattan federal court jury for having defamed Carroll.
    — Dan Mangan, CNBC, 29 June 2026
Definition of defamed
Verb
  • Many nutrition researchers say seed oils have been unfairly maligned.
    — Maria Godoy, NPR, 21 July 2026
  • Or maybe England’s much maligned Bukayo Saka shaking off early struggles to finish with a hat trick?
    — Sergio Gonzalez, New York Times, 19 July 2026
Definition of maligned
Verb
  • Beckham became a national scapegoat after that match and was vilified by the British fans and media.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 14 July 2026
  • There was widespread agreement in the room that the takeover issue had been reported in a sensational way that unfairly vilified teenagers.
    — Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 10 July 2026
Definition of vilified
Verb
  • After the exam was discredited, at least 20 students died by suicide, according to Agence France-Presse.
    — Philip Wang, Time, 25 July 2026
  • Yet the president often relies on theories that independent reviews long ago discredited.
    — Joey Garrison, USA Today, 16 July 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.

Browse Nearby Words

libel
libeled
libeler
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Libeled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/libeled. Accessed 30 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on libeled

Nglish: Translation of libeled for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of sultry

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

Your vs. You're: How to Use Them Correctly
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

The Words of the Week - Jul. 31

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
chain-question-mark
Missing Link Quiz July 2026 Five seconds to figure out the word that fits bot...
See All