Slander Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

: to make a false spoken statement that causes people to have a bad opinion of someone She was accused of slandering her former boss. Full Definition of slander. Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut slander verb SaveWord slan·​der |\ˈslan-dər \ slandered;slandering\ ˈslan-​d(ə-​)riŋ \ EssentialMeaningofslander :tomakeafalsespokenstatementthatcausespeopletohaveabadopinionofsomeone Shewasaccusedofslanderingherformerboss. FullDefinitionofslander (Entry1of2) transitiveverb :toutterslanderagainst:defame slander noun Definitionofslander (Entry2of2) 1 :theutteranceoffalsechargesormisrepresentationswhichdefameanddamageanother'sreputation 2 :afalseanddefamatoryoralstatementaboutaperson—comparelibel OtherWordsfromslander Synonyms ChoosetheRightSynonym ExampleSentences LearnMoreAboutslander OtherWordsfromslander Verb slanderer \ ˈslan-​dər-​ər \ noun Noun slanderous \ ˈslan-​d(ə-​)rəs \ adjective slanderously adverb slanderousness noun Synonymsforslander Synonyms:Verb asperse, blacken, calumniate, defame, libel, malign, smear, traduce, vilify Synonyms:Noun aspersing, blackening, calumniation, calumny, characterassassination, defamation, defaming, libel, libeling (orlibelling), maligning, smearing, traducing, vilification, vilifying VisittheThesaurusforMore  ChoosetheRightSynonymforslander Verb malign,traduce,asperse,vilify,calumniate,defame,slandermeantoinjurebyspeakingillof.malignsuggestsspecificandoftensubtlemisrepresentationbutmaynotalwaysimplydeliberatelying. themostmalignedmonarchinBritishhistory traducestressestheresultingignominyanddistresstothevictim. sotraducedthegovernorthathewasdrivenfromoffice asperseimpliescontinuedattackonareputationoftenbyindirectorinsinuateddetraction. bothcandidatesaspersedtheother'smotives vilifyimpliesattemptingtodestroyareputationbyopenanddirectabuse. nocriminalwasmorevilifiedinthepress calumniateimputesmalicetothespeakerandfalsitytotheassertions. falselycalumniatedasatraitor defamestressestheactuallossoforinjurytoone'sgoodname. suedthemfordefamingherreputation slanderstressesthesufferingofthevictim. towngossipsslanderedtheirgoodname ExamplesofslanderinaSentence Verb Shewasaccusedofslanderingherformerboss. Noun Sheisbeingsuedforslander. Hewasatargetofslander. We'veheardcountlessunsupportedslandersabouther. SeeMore RecentExamplesontheWeb:Verb ULPscanremaintiedupincourtforyearswhileunionsusefabricatedchargesandtechnicalitiestoslanderemployers,aidorganizingcampaignsorforcevoluntaryrecognition. — WSJ,21Sep.2021 Therealindustryisthenetworkofacademics,lawyers,activists,andfunderswholibelandslandercriticsofIslamism,eventhosewhocautiouslystipulatebetweenIslamandIslamism. — A.J.Caschetta,NationalReview,26July2021 TimanovskayasaidtheBelarusianmediahavealreadystartedtoslanderherinrecentdaysovertheincident. — DonaldJudd,CNN,7Aug.2021 Sincethen,themansaidthewomanhadbeencontactinghimcontinuouslyandthreatenedtoposthiscriminalhistoryonlineinordertoslanderhisname. — JohnBenson,cleveland,28July2021 FromthesafetyofhertenuredpositionatRutgersUniversity,NouraErakat,assistantprofessorofAfricanastudiesandcriminaljustice,isalwayswillingtooverlookPalestinianviolenceandslanderIsrael. — A.J.Caschetta,NationalReview,13July2021 Thediscourseandcensorshipofscientificdebate,includingthejournalpublicationprocess,tech-companycensorship,politicalinterference,andslanderandsmearingwithinthescientificcommunity. — MartinKulldorffAndJayBhattacharya,WSJ,27June2021 There’sbeenaccusationsofscamming,slander,andplagiarism. — WillBedingfield,Wired,13June2021 Followinginter-Koreanpledgesnottoslandereachother,NorthKoreanleaderKimJong-un’ssisterKimYo-jongissuedbelligerentstatementslastyearaimedatNorthKoreandefectorsinSouthKoreawhosentleafletsacrosstheborder. — ScottSnyder,Forbes,20May2021 RecentExamplesontheWeb:Noun That'sbeenthecaseeversinceQueenVictoria'ssonBertie,laterEdwardVII,appearedasawitnessintwocourtcases(adivorcecaseandaslandercase)inthelate19thcentury,whichwasutterlyshockingtoVictorianBritainatthetime. — MariaPuente,USATODAY,12Aug.2021 Herallies—alsoaformidablepoliticalforce—believethistobeviciousslander. — LaraPrendergast,Harper'sMagazine,26Oct.2021 TheocannotstandforthisslanderandscreamsthatNONEofthiswillbringNatalieback. — JessicaGoldstein,Vulture,17Oct.2021 Thecharacterizationappearstodrawdirectlyfromthebloodlibelslander,themedievalandmodernconspiracytheorythatJewsannuallykidnapandmurderChristianchildren. — DavidM.Perry,CNN,28Sep.2021 Thisisinadditiontotheall-toofrequentuseofslanderandstereotypesofIslamonsocialmediaplatforms. — JonathanA.Greenblatt,CNN,4Sep.2021 Nobodyonthebeachisgonnastandforthatkindofslander. — KristenBaldwin,EW.com,25Aug.2021 WhatBriscoelaunchedasalightromanticdramahasbecomeaseriouslegalone,withallegationsofslanderandharassmentbothbyandagainsther. — WashingtonPost,15Aug.2021 NochargeswerefiledagainstNeymarinthecase,andtheBrazilianauthoritieseventuallychargedTrindade,whopubliclyidentifiedherselfasNeymar’saccuser,withslander,extortionandfraud. — KevinDraper,NewYorkTimes,27May2021 Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'slander.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. SeeMore FirstKnownUseofslander Verb 13thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedaboveNoun 14thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedatsense1 HistoryandEtymologyforslander Noun MiddleEnglishsclaundre,slaundre,fromAnglo-Frenchesclandre,alterationofescandle,fromLateLatinscandalumstumblingblock,offense—moreatscandalentry1 LearnMoreAboutslander Shareslander PosttheDefinitionofslandertoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofslanderonTwitter TimeTravelerforslander Thefirstknownuseofslanderwas inthe13thcentury Seemorewordsfromthesamecentury FromtheEditorsatMerriam-Webster TheDifferenceBetween'Slander'and... TheDifferenceBetween'Slander'and'Libel' We'lltellyouthesecret DictionaryEntriesNearslander SLandC slander slanderful SeeMoreNearbyEntries  Statisticsforslander LastUpdated 17Oct2021 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Slander.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slander.Accessed3Dec.2021. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MoreDefinitionsforslander slander verb slan·​der |\ˈslan-dər \ slandered;slandering KidsDefinitionofslander (Entry1of2) :tomakeafalseanddamagingstatementagainst slander noun KidsDefinitionofslander (Entry2of2) :afalsestatementthatdamagesanotherperson'sreputation slander transitiveverb slan·​der |\ˈslan-dər \ Legal Definitionofslander (Entry1of2) :toutterslanderagainst OtherWordsfromslander slanderer noun slander noun Legal Definitionofslander (Entry2of2) 1 :defamationofapersonbyunprivilegedoralcommunicationmadetoathirdparty also :defamatoryoralstatements 2 :thetortoforaldefamation suedhisformeremployerforslander —comparedefamation,falselight,libel Note: Anactionforslandermaybebroughtwithoutallegingandprovingspecialdamagesifthestatementsinquestionhaveaplainlyharmfulcharacter,asbyimputingtotheplaintiffcriminalguilt,serioussexualmisconduct,orconductoracharacteristicaffectinghisorherbusinessorprofession. OtherWordsfromslander slanderous \ ˈslan-​də-​rəs \ adjective slanderously adverb slanderousness noun HistoryandEtymologyforslander Noun Anglo-Frenchesclandre,fromOldFrenchescandleesclandrescandal,fromLateLatinscandalummoralstumblingblock,disgrace,fromGreekskandalon,literally,snare,trap MorefromMerriam-Websteronslander Nglish:TranslationofslanderforSpanishSpeakers BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofslanderforArabicSpeakers Britannica.com:Encyclopediaarticleaboutslander WORDOFTHEDAY galvanize SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! TestYourVocabulary NamethatThing:FlowerEdition Namethatflower hyacinth chrysanthemum hydrangea amaryllis Testyourknowledge-andmaybelearnsomethingalongtheway. TAKETHEQUIZ SubscribetoAmerica'slargestdictionaryandgetthousandsmoredefinitionsandadvancedsearch—adfree! 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