defamatory

/di'fæmətəri/

Thân thiện

The newspaper article contained defamatory statements about the mayor.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Harmful to reputation: Describes a statement, remark, or publication that is damaging to a person's or entity's good name, character, or reputation.
   • False and injurious: Often implies that the harmful statement is untrue or made with disregard for the truth, constituting slander (if spoken) or libel (if written/published).

Usage

• The adjective defamatory is used to qualify nouns like , , , , or . It is a formal term commonly used in legal, journalistic, and academic contexts.
• It describes the or of communication, not the act itself. The act is .

Examples

• The newspaper published a retraction after the court ruled the article was defamatory.
• Politicians sometimes sue their opponents for making defamatory claims during elections.
• Her lawyer argued that the online post was not merely critical but was defamatory and had cost her the job offer.

Advanced Usage

• Defamatory per se: A legal term for statements so inherently harmful that damage to reputation is presumed without needing to prove specific losses (e.g., falsely accusing someone of a serious crime or professional incompetence).
  • Accusing a doctor of being a fraud is considered defamatory per se.

Variants and Related Words

• Defame (verb): To damage the good reputation of someone; to slander or libel.
  • He sued the magazine for attempting to defame him.
• Defamation (noun): The act of defaming; the offense of injuring a person's reputation.
  • The lawsuit was based on claims of defamation.
• Defamer (noun): A person who defames someone.

Synonyms

• Libelous (adj): Specifically refers to defamatory or other published forms.
• Slanderous (adj): Specifically refers to defamatory words.
• Denigrating (adj): Criticizing unfairly; disparaging.
• Vilifying (adj): Speaking or writing about in an abusively disparaging manner.

Antonyms

• Complimentary (adj): Expressing praise or admiration.
• Flattering (adj): Full of praise and compliments.
• Commendatory (adj): Serving to present someone as worthy of praise.

Related Phrases and Idioms

• Character assassination: A vicious, sustained personal attack intended to destroy someone's reputation, often through defamatory means.
  • The political debate devolved into character assassination.

Học thuật

Adjective

1. (used of statements) harmful and often untrue; tending to discredit or malign

Từ đồng nghĩa

• calumniatory
• calumnious
• denigrative
• denigrating
• denigratory
• libellous
• libelous
• slanderous