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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
Stephen L. Carter, Mercury News, 19 Sep. 2025
There was a threat of a defamation case in Florida.
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 19 Sep. 2025
Their challenge was based on revelations from the Dominion Voting Systems defamation case against Fox News.
—Ted Johnson, Deadline, 19 Sep. 2025
Disney took a step last December to avoid a confrontation with Trump by paying $15 million to settle the president’s defamation lawsuit against ABC News and George Stephanopoulos.
—David Bauder, Fortune, 19 Sep. 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 21 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
defamation
noun
W. L. Prosser and W. P. Keeton
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