What does defamation mean?
Defamation is the act of harming another person's reputation by making false statements about them. It is most familiar as a legal concept: a person who believes their good name has been wrongly attacked may bring a defamation claim against whoever published the statement. The law traditionally distinguishes libel, where the damaging statement is written or otherwise permanently recorded, from slander, where it is spoken; many jurisdictions now treat both as a single cause of action called defamation. Beyond the courtroom, the word appears in ordinary discussion of smear campaigns, malicious gossip, and character attacks, always carrying a strongly negative connotation. Crucially, defamation implies falsehood — an unflattering but true statement may be hurtful, but it is not defamatory. Related forms include the verb defame and the adjective defamatory. Because reputation is both fragile and valuable, defamation remains one of the most litigated areas of media and communications law worldwide.
nounThe act of damaging someone's good reputation by making false statements about them, whether in speech (slander) or in writing (libel). In law, it is a communicable wrong that exposes a person to hatred, contempt, or ridicule.
- Law: the publication of a false statement that damages another person's reputation, encompassing both spoken slander and written libel.
- General use: the act or instance of unfairly attacking or maligning someone's character or reputation.
"The magazine settled out of court after the senator sued it for defamation over the fabricated story."
"She filed a defamation suit against the tabloid for printing lies about her marriage."
"He dismissed the gossip as mere defamation, unworthy of a reply."
Rarely pluralised; usually treated as an uncountable mass noun referring to the act in general, with individual instances expressed as 'acts of defamation' or 'cases of defamation'.
"Over the years, his opponents levelled countless defamations at him, none of them true."
In England you can defame the dead — but since the dead cannot sue, no one can be punished for it.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of defamation
Defamation comes from the Latin diffamare, meaning 'to spread abroad by ill report', formed from dis- ('apart, widely') and fama ('report, fame, reputation'). It entered English in the Middle Ages via Old French, initially appearing as a legal term for public disgrace or loss of good name before narrowing to its modern sense of a reputation-damaging false statement. It shares its root with fame, famous, infamous, and the related verb fable's ancestor fabula — all tracing back to the notion of 'what is spoken'.
Related word forms
How defamation is actually used
Formal register, used chiefly in legal contexts but also in general discussion of reputational harm. In law, the term splits into libel (written or published statements) and slander (spoken statements), though many modern jurisdictions simply speak of defamation. The word carries a strongly negative connotation and typically implies falsity — truth is generally a complete defence to a claim.
Easily confused with defamation
Deformation means the act of distorting or misshaping something physically, whereas defamation means damaging a person's reputation through false statements.
Defacement refers to spoiling or marring the surface or appearance of something, while defamation harms reputation rather than physical form.