Defamation — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

a false accusation of an offense or a malicious misrepresentation of someone's words or actions

an abusive attack on a person's character or good name

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/dɪsplˈoʊdz/

🇬🇧British English

/dɪfɐmˈeɪʃən/

🇮🇳Indian English

/dɪfɐmˈeɪʃən/

4 syllables Say it as /dɪsplˈoʊdz/.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

denigration slander obloquy aspersion hatchet job calumny traducement calumniation

Word Forms

defame	verb	charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone
calumnious	adjective	(used of statements) harmful and often untrue; tending to discredit or malign
calumniate	verb	charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone
traduce	verb	speak unfavorably about
asperse	verb	charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone
slanderous	adjective	(used of statements) harmful and often untrue; tending to discredit or malign
slander	verb	charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone
denigrate	verb	charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Verleumdung

eine falsche Anschuldigung einer Straftat oder eine böswillige Falschdarstellung der Worte oder Handlungen einer Person

🇫🇷French

diffamation

une fausse accusation d'une infraction ou une fausse représentation malveillante des paroles ou des actions de quelqu'un

🇪🇸Spanish

difamación

una acusación falsa de un delito o una tergiversación maliciosa de las palabras o acciones de alguien

🇮🇹Italian

diffamazione

una falsa accusa di un reato o una falsa rappresentazione delle parole o delle azioni di qualcuno

🇳🇱Dutch

geroddel

een valse beschuldiging van een overtreding of een kwaadwillige verkeerde voorstelling van iemands woorden of daden

🇵🇹Portuguese

difamação

uma falsa acusação de uma ofensa ou uma deturpação maliciosa das palavras ou ações de alguém

🇷🇺Russian

клевета

ложное обвинение в правонарушении или злонамеренное искажение чьих-либо слов или действий

India

🇮🇳Hindi

मानहानि

किसी अपराध का झूठा आरोप या किसी के शब्दों या कार्यों की दुर्भावनापूर्ण गलत व्याख्या

🇧🇩Bengali

মানহানি

একটি অপরাধের একটি মিথ্যা অভিযোগ বা কারো কথা বা কর্মের একটি দূষিত ভুল উপস্থাপনা

🇮🇳Tamil

அவதூறு

ஒரு குற்றத்தின் தவறான குற்றச்சாட்டு அல்லது ஒருவரின் வார்த்தைகள் அல்லது செயல்களை தீங்கிழைக்கும் தவறான சித்தரிப்பு

🇮🇳Telugu

పరువు నష్టం

నేరం యొక్క తప్పుడు ఆరోపణ లేదా ఒకరి మాటలు లేదా చర్యల యొక్క హానికరమైన తప్పుగా సూచించడం

🇮🇳Marathi

बदनामी

एखाद्या गुन्ह्याचा खोटा आरोप किंवा एखाद्याच्या शब्द किंवा कृतींचे दुर्भावनापूर्ण चुकीचे वर्णन

🇮🇳Gujarati

બદનક્ષી

ગુનાનો ખોટો આરોપ અથવા કોઈના શબ્દો અથવા કાર્યોની દૂષિત ખોટી રજૂઆત

🇮🇳Kannada

ಮಾನಹಾನಿ

ಅಪರಾಧದ ಸುಳ್ಳು ಆರೋಪ ಅಥವಾ ಯಾರೊಬ್ಬರ ಮಾತುಗಳು ಅಥವಾ ಕ್ರಿಯೆಗಳ ದುರುದ್ದೇಶಪೂರಿತ ತಪ್ಪು ನಿರೂಪಣೆ

🇮🇳Malayalam

അപകീർത്തിപ്പെടുത്തൽ

ഒരു കുറ്റത്തിൻ്റെ തെറ്റായ ആരോപണം അല്ലെങ്കിൽ ആരുടെയെങ്കിലും വാക്കുകളുടെയോ പ്രവൃത്തികളുടെയോ ക്ഷുദ്രകരമായ തെറ്റായി ചിത്രീകരിക്കൽ

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਮਾਣਹਾਨੀ

ਕਿਸੇ ਜੁਰਮ ਦਾ ਝੂਠਾ ਇਲਜ਼ਾਮ ਜਾਂ ਕਿਸੇ ਦੇ ਸ਼ਬਦਾਂ ਜਾਂ ਕੰਮਾਂ ਦੀ ਗਲਤ ਪੇਸ਼ਕਾਰੀ

🇵🇰Urdu

بدنامی

کسی جرم کا جھوٹا الزام یا کسی کے الفاظ یا عمل کی بدنیتی پر مبنی غلط بیانی۔

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

诽谤

对犯罪行为的虚假指控或对某人言语或行为的恶意歪曲

🇯🇵Japanese

名誉毀損

犯罪の虚偽の告発、または誰かの言葉や行動の悪意のある虚偽の表示

🇰🇷Korean

중상

범죄에 대한 거짓 비난 또는 누군가의 말이나 행동에 대한 악의적인 허위 진술

🇻🇳Vietnamese

sự phỉ báng

lời buộc tội sai về một hành vi phạm tội hoặc sự xuyên tạc ác ý về lời nói hoặc hành động của ai đó

🇹🇭Thai

การหมิ่นประมาท

การกล่าวหาที่เป็นเท็จถึงความผิดหรือการบิดเบือนคำพูดหรือการกระทำของผู้อื่นในทางที่ผิด

🇮🇩Indonesian

fitnah

tuduhan palsu atas suatu pelanggaran atau pernyataan keliru yang jahat atas kata-kata atau tindakan seseorang

🇵🇭Filipino

paninirang puri

isang maling akusasyon ng isang pagkakasala o isang malisyosong misrepresentasyon ng mga salita o kilos ng isang tao

🇲🇾Malay

fitnah

tuduhan palsu tentang kesalahan atau salah nyata yang berniat jahat terhadap perkataan atau tindakan seseorang

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

التشهير

اتهام كاذب بجريمة أو تحريف خبيث لكلمات أو أفعال شخص ما

🇮🇷Persian

افترا

اتهام نادرست به جرم یا ارائه نادرست بدخواهانه از سخنان یا اعمال کسی

🇹🇷Turkish

iftira

bir kişinin yanlış bir suçla itham edilmesi veya birinin sözlerinin veya eylemlerinin kötü niyetli olarak yanlış beyan edilmesi

🇮🇱Hebrew

הַשׁמָצָה

האשמת שווא בעבירה או מצג שווא בזדון של דבריו או מעשיו של מישהו

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'defamation'?

The primary meaning of 'defamation' is 'a false accusation of an offense or a malicious misrepresentation of someone's words or actions'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'defamation' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'defamation' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'defamation' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'defamation' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'defamation' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'defamation' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'defamation' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'defamation' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'defamation' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'defamation' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted