libel
Law.
defamation by written, printed, or broadcast words or pictures: Intentionally or knowingly posting content that constitutes libel is prohibited.: Compare slander (def. 3).
the act or crime of publishing or broadcasting a defamatory statement:The author was convicted of libel and sentenced to a yearlong jail term.
a formal written declaration or statement, as one containing the allegations of a plaintiff or the grounds of a charge.
anything that is defamatory or that maliciously or damagingly misrepresents: He blames me for his getting kicked out of school, so he spread this libel against me in revenge.
to publish or broadcast a libel against: The journalist received a suspended three-year prison sentence for allegedly libeling the president in an online article.
to misrepresent damagingly: So it's just fine to smear and libel the writer, but it's not okay to call someone out for doing so?
to institute suit against by a libel, as in an admiralty court.
Origin of libel
1confusables note For libel
Other words from libel
- in·ter·li·bel, verb (used with object), in·ter·li·beled, in·ter·li·bel·ing or (especially British) in·ter·li·belled, in·ter·li·bel·ling.
- un·li·beled, adjective
- un·li·belled, adjective
Words that may be confused with libel
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use libel in a sentence
Yet he is not named in the book despite the basic rule that the deceased cannot be libeled.
The Strange Timing of Sugar Ray Leonard's Sex-Abuse Story | Buzz Bissinger | May 19, 2011 | THE DAILY BEASTHotten had preyed upon explorer Stanley and libeled him in a so-called.
Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, Complete | Albert Bigelow PaineTwice I booked for Sydney on my own—missed one boat through a train wreck, and the other was libeled at the dockhead.
Where the Pavement Ends | John RussellThe former owners of the vessel libeled the ship, alleging that the capture was illegal and demanding their property.
The Life of John Marshall Volume 4 of 4 | Albert J. BeveridgeShe could be found and libeled anywhere if her young owners failed to settle.
The Motor Boat Club and The Wireless | H. Irving Hancock
He only regretted that Roland had not been a poet that he might have libeled her in poetry for all eternity.
The Story of Don Quixote | Arvid Paulson, Clayton Edwards, and Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
British Dictionary definitions for libel
/ (ˈlaɪbəl) /
law
the publication of defamatory matter in permanent form, as by a written or printed statement, picture, etc
the act of publishing such matter
any defamatory or unflattering representation or statement
ecclesiastical law a claimant's written statement of claim
Scots law the formal statement of a charge
law to make or publish a defamatory statement or representation about (a person)
to misrepresent injuriously
ecclesiastical law to bring an action against (a person) in the ecclesiastical courts
Origin of libel
1Derived forms of libel
- libeller or libelist, noun
- libellous or libelous, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for libel
A written, printed, or pictorial statement that unjustly defames someone publicly. Prosecution of libel as a punishable offense puts some measure of restriction on freedom of the press under the First Amendment (see also First Amendment).
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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