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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
Raja Krishnamoorthi, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Apr. 2025
Federal courts apply state law to defamation cases.
—David Folkenflik, NPR, 13 Apr. 2025
Although Newsmax denies any wrongdoing, the network agreed last year to pay $40 million to settle a similar defamation lawsuit from voting company Smartmatic.
—Jade Walker, CNN Money, 10 Apr. 2025
Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis, who handled Dominion’s historic defamation case against Fox News two years ago, also ruled that the allegations against the right-wing network weren’t presented by hosts or guests as opinion.
—Jade Walker, CNN Money, 10 Apr. 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 18 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
defamation
noun
W. L. Prosser and W. P. Keeton
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