defamation

American  

[def-uh-mey-shuhn] / ˌdɛf əˈmeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act of defaming; false or unjustified injury of the good reputation of another, as by slander or libel; calumny.

   She sued the magazine for defamation of character.

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defamation British  

/ ˌdɛfəˈmeɪʃən /

noun

1. law the injuring of a person's good name or reputation Compare libel slander

2. the act of defaming or state of being defamed

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Commonly Confused

See slander.

Etymology

Origin of defamation

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English; replacing (by analogy with defame ) Middle English diffamacioun, from Medieval Latin diffāmātiōn- (stem of diffāmātiō ), equivalent to Latin diffāmāt(us) (past participle of diffāmāre; defame ) + -iōn- noun suffix ( -ion )

Example Sentences

"The club regrets the defamation campaign of which the player has been a victim."

From BBC

Days after lodging her complaint, Lively sued Baldoni and several member of his publicity team for defamation, seeking unspecified damages.

From MarketWatch

His statement provoked a strong reaction from the campus's student collective, which is threatening to sue him for defamation.

From Barron's

Sitrick writes that if gentle persuasion doesn’t work to convince Ferguson to retract her statement, then “we need to turn up the heat even to the point of sending her a draft defamation lawsuit.”

From Los Angeles Times

He has filed a lawsuit against the Journal alleging defamation.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• denigration
• disparagement