Definition

1. Noun:
   • One who attacks the reputation of another by slander or libel: A person who makes false and damaging spoken statements (slander) or written statements (libel) about someone else, with the intent to harm their good name or reputation.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • The politician sued the newspaper columnist, calling him a vicious slanderer.
  • In the courtroom, the witness was revealed to be a known slanderer with a history of making false accusations.
  • She refused to listen to the gossip, dismissing the speaker as a mere slanderer.

Advanced Usage

• Legal Context: In law, a "slanderer" is specifically one who commits the tort of slander (defamatory spoken statements), though the term is often used more broadly to include libel (defamatory written/published statements). The key element is the communication of a false statement that injures reputation.
  • The court found him liable as a slanderer for his malicious public remarks.

Variants and Related Words

• Slander (n/v): The act or crime of making a false spoken statement damaging to a person's reputation; to utter such statements.
  • He was accused of slander.
• Slanderous (adj): Containing or constituting slander; defamatory.
  • She made slanderous comments about her former employer.
• Libeler (n): One who attacks a reputation by libel (written/published defamation). Often used interchangeably with "slanderer" in general contexts.

Synonyms

• Defamer: One who damages the good reputation of someone.
• Vilifier: One who speaks or writes about in an abusively disparaging manner.
• Traducer: One who speaks maliciously and falsely about; a slanderer. (Formal/Literary)
• Calumniator: One who makes false and defamatory statements about. (Formal)

Related Phrases

• To accuse someone of being a slanderer: To formally charge or assert that someone is spreading malicious falsehoods.
  • He threatened to accuse her of being a slanderer if she repeated the story.
• A campaign by slanderers: A coordinated effort by individuals to spread damaging untruths.
  • The celebrity felt she was the target of a campaign by slanderers.

Related Idioms

• To throw mud at someone / To be a mudslinger: To make malicious or slanderous allegations against someone. This idiom paints a vivid picture of the act of defamation.
  • Instead of discussing policies, the debate devolved into the candidates throwing mud at each other.

Noun

1. one who attacks the reputation of another by slander or libel