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
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
At that time, Taj Jackson called the allegations false and defamatory.
—Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 22 Apr. 2026
Hanks rejected that argument, finding the remarks were exaggerated rather than defamatory.
—Fernando Cervantes Jr, USA Today, 22 Apr. 2026
Responding to the lawsuit, Meiner said the filing contains inaccuracies and suggested the statements at issue could be defamatory.
—Abby Dodge, CBS News, 24 Mar. 2026
The court passed an interim injunction against Gogoi and two other Congress leaders, prohibiting them from making defamatory statements against Sarma, and also asked a local newspaper to abstain from publishing defamatory material against the chief minister.
—Shabnam Dohutia, Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 Mar. 2026
To that point, Judge DeMarchi reasoned that some of the statements Taylor contends are defamatory were statements of opinion.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 19 Mar. 2026
In its efforts to disrupt the project, Greenpeace, Energy Transfer alleged, distributed false and defamatory information about the project to inflame protesters and raise funds to further its goals.
—Mark Curriden, Dallas Morning News, 13 Mar. 2026
Walz, who suspended his campaign for a third term in office just weeks after Thompson’s remarks, described the $9 billion figure as speculative and defamatory.
—Alex Derosier, Twin Cities, 23 Feb. 2026
Joseph Konig, PEOPLE, 24 Apr. 2026
At that time, Taj Jackson called the allegations false and defamatory.
—Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 22 Apr. 2026
Hanks rejected that argument, finding the remarks were exaggerated rather than defamatory.
—Fernando Cervantes Jr, USA Today, 22 Apr. 2026
Responding to the lawsuit, Meiner said the filing contains inaccuracies and suggested the statements at issue could be defamatory.
—Abby Dodge, CBS News, 24 Mar. 2026
The court passed an interim injunction against Gogoi and two other Congress leaders, prohibiting them from making defamatory statements against Sarma, and also asked a local newspaper to abstain from publishing defamatory material against the chief minister.
—Shabnam Dohutia, Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 Mar. 2026
To that point, Judge DeMarchi reasoned that some of the statements Taylor contends are defamatory were statements of opinion.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 19 Mar. 2026
In its efforts to disrupt the project, Greenpeace, Energy Transfer alleged, distributed false and defamatory information about the project to inflame protesters and raise funds to further its goals.
—Mark Curriden, Dallas Morning News, 13 Mar. 2026
Walz, who suspended his campaign for a third term in office just weeks after Thompson’s remarks, described the $9 billion figure as speculative and defamatory.
—Alex Derosier, Twin Cities, 23 Feb. 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
-
Who never bothered to delete the erroneous post.—
Joe Rexrode,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
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Then, in 2005, the Texas First Court of Appeals overturned Yates’ conviction after finding the forensic psychiatrist who testified for the prosecution gave erroneous testimony that may have prejudiced the jury.—
Chelsea Bailey,
CNN Money,
22 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The group’s ads on his past felony bank fraud charges were decried by Ford as slanderous.—
Alice Yin,
Chicago Tribune,
18 Mar. 2026
-
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 2 May. 2026.
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