libel
/ˈlaɪbəl/
libel noun: a written or pictorial false statement which unjustly seeks to damage someone's reputation.
Noun
libel (countable and uncountable, plural libels)
- A written or pictorial false statement which unjustly seeks to damage someone's reputation.
- The act or tort of displaying such a statement publicly.
- Any defamatory writing; a lampoon; a satire.
- A written declaration or statement by the plaintiff of their cause of action, and of the relief they seek.
- These provisions of law being in force, the steamer Rio Grande, owned, as was alleged, by persons in Mexico, being in the port of Mobile, in the Southern District of Alabama, certain materialmen, on the 26th of November, 1867, filed separate libels against her in the district court for the said...1873, United States Supreme Court, The Rio Grande, 86 U.S. 178,179
- A brief writing of any kind, especially a declaration, bill, certificate, request, supplication, etc.
- a libel of forsaking [divorcement]
Verb
libel (third-person singular simple present libels, present participle (US) libeling or (UK) libelling, simple past and past participle (US) libeled or (UK) libelled)
- To defame (someone), especially in a manner that meets the legal definition of libel.
- He libelled her when he published that.
- But vvhat ſo pure, vvhich envious tongues vvill ſpare? / Some vvicked vvits have libell'd all the fair.1709, Alexander Pope, “January and May; or, The Merchant’s Tale, from Chaucer”, in The Works of Mr. Alexander Pope, volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintot, […], published 1717...
- To proceed against (goods, a ship, etc.) by filing a legal claim.
libel meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Bengali and Malayalam
libel in Tamil
- அவதூறு, எழுத்து வழி அவதூறு, நிலைவடிவ அவதூறு, பழிப்புரை, புகழியுரை, பொய்யான இகழுரை
libel in Urdu
- libel; slander; calumny
- تہمت tuhmat
libel in Bengali
- লিখিত মানহানি, কুৎসা রটনা
libel in Malayalam
- അപകീർത്തികരമായ പ്രസിദ്ധീകരണം, ലേഖനത്തിൻറെ പ്രസിദ്ധീകരണം, അപവാദം, അപരാധാരോപണം
More languagesFewer languages
- libel in Kannada
- ಮಾನನಷ್ಟ ಲೇಖನ, ಮಾನಹಾನಿ ಮಾಡುವ ಬರಹ, ಮದಿಪುಕಳೆವ ಬರಹ, ತಪ್ಪುಹೊರಿಕೆ
- libel in Punjabi
- تہمت tuhmat
- libel in Tagalog
- paninirang-puri
- libel in Arabic
- تشهير tašhīr, قذف qad̠f
Examples of libel in a sentence
- The newspaper was forced to recaption the photograph to avoid a libel suit.
- If you publish that article, you are accusable of libel.
- He may be insulting, a miserable rotter and a fool, but unless he slanders or libels you, or damages your property, you do not have standing to sue him.
Synonyms of libel
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of libel
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | libels |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | libels |
| present participle US | libeling |
| present participle UK | libelling |
| past participle US | libeled |
| past US | libeled |
| past participle UK | libelled |
| past UK | libelled |
Origin of libel
From Middle English libel, from Old French libelle, from Latin libellus (“petition”, literally “booklet”). Doublet of libelle.
Words formed from libel
Phrases with libel
Words that rhyme with libel
Questions about libel
- What does libel mean?
- Libel means a written or pictorial false statement which unjustly seeks to damage someone's reputation.
- What is libel in Tamil?
- Libel in Tamil is அவதூறு, எழுத்து வழி அவதூறு, நிலைவடிவ அவதூறு. See Libel meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is libel?
- Libel can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce libel?
- Libel is pronounced /ˈlaɪbəl/.
- What is the plural of libel?
- The plural of libel is libels.
Words near libel in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: libel (page history and authors); libel (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); تہمت (Urdu) (page history and authors); Libel (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); libel (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); libel (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); تہمت (Punjabi) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-libel.ogg.
Cite this entry: “libel.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/libel. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.