Word.ws English Dictionary

libel chill

libel chill noun: uneasiness or unwillingness to speak publicly or to write about a matter, as a result of the threat or suggestion of a libel action should one do so.

Noun

libel chill (uncountable)

  1. (idiomatic) Uneasiness or unwillingness to speak publicly or to write about a matter, as a result of the threat or suggestion of a libel action should one do so.
    • Ira Glasser's Op-Ed article and Anthony Lewis's column of Dec. 10 both address the possible chilling effect on the press raised by the potential cost of defending against a libel action by a public official.1984 December 16, William Vandersteel, “Defrosting Libel Chill”, in New York Times, retrieved 29 May 2014
    • Black enjoys being rude about others—he has an endearing habit of writing sharp letters to his own papers—while reserving the right to sue those who are rude about him. Even Siklos is forced to refer to the "libel chill" around Black.1996 February 3, Robert Winder, “Black humours”, in The Independent, UK, retrieved 29 May 2014

Questions about libel chill

What does libel chill mean?
Libel chill means uneasiness or unwillingness to speak publicly or to write about a matter, as a result of the threat or suggestion of a libel action should one do so.
What part of speech is libel chill?
Libel chill is a noun.

Words near libel chill in the dictionary

  1. libecchios
  2. libecci
  3. libeccio
  4. libeccios
  5. libel
  6. libel chill
  7. libel tourism
  8. libelant
  9. libelants
  10. libeled
  11. libelee

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: libel chill (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-au-libel chill.ogg.

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