Examples of libel in a Sentence
Judith Miller, New York Times, 11 June 1996
Government officials, he observed, were public servants who remained accountable to the people and therefore could not be libeled for their performance in office.
—Leonard W. Levy, Emergence of a Free Press, 1985
The jury found that the article libeled him.
the court decided that the newspaper's reportage of the former mayor, while irresponsible, did not constitute an effort to libel him
Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 22 Apr. 2025
As a new, inexpensive Chevrolet appeared in 1927 and The Dearborn Independent was sued for libeling a number of Jewish businessmen, Ford threw in the towel and apologized.
—George Pendle, airmail.news, 15 Mar. 2025
Please ask your daughter to stop libeling Miss Manners.
—Judith Martin, The Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2025
Wright got so big on social media even Piers Morgan invited her to libel Jay Z and Beyonce on his platform.
—Rob Marriott, VIBE.com, 30 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for libel
Cite this Entry
“Libel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/libel. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
libel
1 of 2 noun
libel
2 of 2 verbMiddle English libel "a written statement, little book" from early French libel (same meaning), from Latin libellus, "little book," from liber "book" — related to library
Legal Definition
libel
1 of 2 noun
Note: Although libel is defined under state case law or statute, the U.S. Supreme Court has enumerated some First Amendment protections that apply to matters of public concern. In New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, the Court held that in order to recover damages a public person (as a celebrity or politician) who alleges libel (as by a newspaper) has to prove that “the statement was made with ‘actual malice’ — that is, with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not” in order to recover damages. The Court has also held that the states cannot allow a private person to recover damages for libel against a media defendant without a showing of fault (as negligence) on the defendant's part. These protections do not apply to matters that are not of public concern (as an individual's credit report) and that are not published by a member of the mass media. A libel plaintiff must generally establish that the alleged libel refers to him or her specifically, that it was published to others, and that some injury (as to reputation) occurred that gives him or her a right to recover damages (as actual, general, presumed, or special damages). The defendant may plead and establish the truth of the statements as a defense. Criminal libel may have additional elements, as in tending to provoke a breach of peace or in blackening the memory of someone who is dead, and may not have to be published to someone other than the person libeled.
libel
2 of 2 transitive verbNew York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964)J. K. OwensAnglo-French, from Latin libellus, diminutive of liber book
