defame
Americanverb (used with object)
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defames,
present (3rd person singular)
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defamed,
past participle, past
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defaming
present participle
-
to attack the good name or reputation of, as by uttering or publishing maliciously or falsely anything injurious; slander or libel; calumniate.
The newspaper editorial defamed the politician.
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Archaic. to disgrace; bring dishonor upon.
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Archaic. to accuse.
verb
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to attack the good name or reputation of; slander; libel
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archaic to indict or accuse
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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defamesimple
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defamessimple
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have defamedperfect
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has defamedperfect
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am defamingprogressive
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are defamingprogressive
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is defamingprogressive
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have been defamingperfect progressive
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has been defamingperfect progressive
Past
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defamedsimple
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had defamedperfect
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was defamingprogressive
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were defamingprogressive
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had been defamingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of defame
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English defamen, from Anglo-French defamer or directly from Medieval Latin dēfāmāre, variant of Medieval Latin, Latin diffāmāre ( dē- de- for dif-; compare Latin dēfāmātus “infamous”) “to spread the news of, slander,” equivalent to dif- dif- + -fāmāre verbal derivative of fāma “news, rumor, slander” ( see fame); replacing Middle English diffamen, from Anglo-French, Old French diffamer or directly from Medieval Latin, Latin, as above
Explanation
Even though Joan Jett sang about not minding her bad reputation, most of us don't want others to defame us. To defame is to gossip, even if the story is made-up, with the goal of hurting someone's image. We usually think of fame as a positive thing. Love, admiration, and people wanting to be like you — it all comes with the territory. The de- in defame means "remove." So if someone tries to defame a person, fame — or a good reputation — is taken away. Celebrities protect themselves from those who want to defame them, arming themselves with lawyers.
Vocabulary lists containing defame
100 SAT Words Beginning with "D"
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New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964)
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Intermediate, List 6
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He has denied any wrongdoing and called the allegations an attempt to defame him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
"The New York Times has been allowed to freely lie, smear, and defame me for far too long, and that stops, NOW!"
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2025
When Musk hops on Twitter to defame people with wild accusations, his fanboys thrill.
From Salon ● Jun. 9, 2025
It contends that county officials went out of their way to defame Baldwin and their pursuit of criminal charges deprived the actor-producer of his civil rights.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 9, 2025
And do you know what this all means—that the gossipmongers once again have an opportunity to defame my son with these ridiculous rumors about his parentage.
From "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" by J.K. Rowling
A Hong Kong arts hub cancelled the revival of an LGBTQ-themed play hours before tickets went on sale on Saturday, the cast said, after complaints that it "defames" the Chinese city.
From Barron's ● Oct. 18, 2025
"These are clear that we prohibit content that demeans, defames, or promotes discrimination."
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2022
“The kind of speech that defames parents who have lost their children in a massacre is maybe the kind of speech you do want to deter. You do want to chill that speech,” Solomon said.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 6, 2022
If she fails to do so or defames the singer, “Britney will be forced to consider and take all appropriate legal action.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 20, 2022
“It’s slanderous. It defames my good name. It’s a shameful way for a member of the Arcanum to behave.”
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
He says the Journal defamed him for reporting on a birthday letter with Mr. Trump’s signature sent in 2003 to sexual offender Jeffrey Epstein.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026
The US Supreme Court will not hear an appeal requested by President Donald Trump to review the civil case that found he defamed and sexually abused writer E Jean Carroll.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
"Today's Supreme Court decision affirms once and for all the jury's unanimous verdict that President Donald J. Trump sexually assaulted and defamed E. Jean Carroll," said Carroll's attorney Roberta Kaplan.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
The ad did not mention Sullivan by name but he said he was defamed by the ad’s criticism of the police.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
It iz a grate deal better for a man tew be defamed than tew be praized for what he don’t possess.
From The Complete Works of Josh Billings by Henry W. Shaw
Starbucks quickly rolled it back, saying it was unintentional but civic groups filed a criminal complaint against the company, demanding the police investigate it for defaming victims of the military dictatorship.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
Chaves has had strained ties with local media, whom he accuses of defaming him.
From Barron's ● May 5, 2026
“The whole thing’s about defaming me,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit in which Drake had accused the world’s biggest record company of defaming him with the release and promotion of Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy-winning diss track “Not Like Us.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2025
Adams read in the newspapers that Jefferson had compiled “a Magazine of slips of newspapers, and pamphlets, vilifying, calumniating and defaming you.”
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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