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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
J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 8 Mar. 2025
Some of those lies have been costly: In 2023, Fox News settled with Dominion Voting Systems in a defamation lawsuit, paying almost $800 million to avoid trial, according to The Associated Press.
—Carolyn Komatsoulis, Idaho Statesman, 8 Mar. 2025
In a separate case, filed just before Christmas, Jones is suing Baldoni, Wayfarer, execs, crisis PR boss Nathan and Abel for defamation and breach of contract.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 6 Mar. 2025
Baldoni then filed a $400 million lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds, their publicist Leslie Sloane and Sloane's PR firm Vision PR, Inc. on claims of civil extortion, defamation and more.
—Jen Juneau, People.com, 6 Mar. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Defamation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/defamation. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
defamation
noun
W. L. Prosser and W. P. Keeton
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