Did you know?
Harming someone's reputation in speech with falsehoods is known as slander, and doing the same thing in writing is known as libel (which sometimes includes speech as well). Any ordinary citizen who can claim to have suffered harm as a result of such defamation may sue. So why aren't politicians suing all the time? Because an exception is made for "public persons" (a category that includes most other celebrities as well), who must also prove that any such statement was made with "reckless disregard for the truth". And although, even by that standard, public persons are defamed all the time, most of them have decided that it's better to just grin and bear it.
Examples of defamation in a Sentence
Megan Cartwright, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 June 2025
However, the countersuit was dismissed on Monday, June 9, along with Baldoni's $250 million defamation lawsuit against The New York Times.
—Sharareh Drury, People.com, 11 June 2025
Earlier Monday, Southern District of New York judge Lewis J. Liman dismissed 41-year-old Baldoni’s lawsuit against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and publicist Leslie Sloane, for defamation and civil extortion.
—Jami Ganz, New York Daily News, 10 June 2025
As rumors of a feud grew, Baldoni hired Melissa Nathan, a crisis PR manager who represented Johnny Depp in his defamation case against ex-wife Amber Heard.
—Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for defamation
Cite this Entry
“Defamation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/defamation. Accessed 15 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
defamation
noun
W. L. Prosser and W. P. Keeton
Share