as in libelous
causing or intended to cause unjust injury to a person's good name
defamatory remarks that were published in the newspaper
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Recent Examples of defamatory
On January 15, 2025, Baldoni filed suit against Lively; her husband, Ryan Reynolds; and their publicist, insisting that her claims of mistreatment were defamatory.
—
Victoria Bekiempis, Vulture, 14 May 2026
Everyone in our state should renounce and denounce these defamatory attacks.
—Ashley Paul, CBS News, 12 May 2026
After his tokens were frozen, Sun repeatedly posted on social media in comments World Liberty Financial alleges were defamatory.
—Ben Weiss, Fortune, 4 May 2026
Firstly, the first lady played no part in the defamatory labeling by her husband.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 3 May 2026
The sites mix factual assertions about their targets with unsubstantiated conspiracies and defamatory claims of misconduct ranging from extortion and embezzlement to drug dealing and prostitution.
—Gary Baum, HollywoodReporter, 30 Apr. 2026
In Near, the Court considered the constitutionality of a Minnesota public nuisance statute that allowed authorities to shut down scandalous and defamatory periodicals.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Apr. 2026
The parents and other relatives of children killed in the shooting said Jones’ defamatory claims haunted them for years and led to harassment and death threats.
—Joseph Konig, PEOPLE, 24 Apr. 2026
Hanks rejected that argument, finding the remarks were exaggerated rather than defamatory.
—Fernando Cervantes Jr, USA Today, 22 Apr. 2026
Victoria Bekiempis, Vulture, 14 May 2026
Everyone in our state should renounce and denounce these defamatory attacks.
—Ashley Paul, CBS News, 12 May 2026
After his tokens were frozen, Sun repeatedly posted on social media in comments World Liberty Financial alleges were defamatory.
—Ben Weiss, Fortune, 4 May 2026
Firstly, the first lady played no part in the defamatory labeling by her husband.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 3 May 2026
The sites mix factual assertions about their targets with unsubstantiated conspiracies and defamatory claims of misconduct ranging from extortion and embezzlement to drug dealing and prostitution.
—Gary Baum, HollywoodReporter, 30 Apr. 2026
In Near, the Court considered the constitutionality of a Minnesota public nuisance statute that allowed authorities to shut down scandalous and defamatory periodicals.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Apr. 2026
The parents and other relatives of children killed in the shooting said Jones’ defamatory claims haunted them for years and led to harassment and death threats.
—Joseph Konig, PEOPLE, 24 Apr. 2026
Hanks rejected that argument, finding the remarks were exaggerated rather than defamatory.
—Fernando Cervantes Jr, USA Today, 22 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defamatory
Adjective
-
Breuer also accused Moore of using a Jan. 26 news conference, four days after the building was evacuated, to spread falsehoods about the company, which Breuer said could be deemed libelous.—
Drake Bentley,
jsonline.com,
5 Mar. 2026
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In recent weeks, though, her group has doubled in size, and while in the past there were only two or three posts per day, Mitchell and her new moderators now have to wade through 60-plus comments ranging from helpful to libelous.—
Brenna Ehrlich,
Rolling Stone,
25 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Some free-speech experts at the time felt Disney had a chance to win that case, which revolved around erroneous statements made by ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos.—
Meg James,
Los Angeles Times,
11 May 2026
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Spoofing relies on transmitting false signals that mimic authentic satellite signals to trick signal receivers into calculating erroneous positions for aircraft and other users.—
Andrew Cunningham,
ArsTechnica,
11 May 2026
Adjective
-
The group’s ads on his past felony bank fraud charges were decried by Ford as slanderous.—
Alice Yin,
Chicago Tribune,
18 Mar. 2026
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Keefer called these claims baseless and slanderous.—
Bradley Hohulin,
IndyStar,
8 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Defamatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defamatory. Accessed 22 May. 2026.
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