What does "libelous" mean?

Defamatory, libeling, referring to something that causes harm to someone's reputation especially with malice or disregard.

What is a synonym for "libelous"?

Common synonyms include: calumniatory, defamatory, abusive, back-biting, backbiting, belittling.

adj

adj ·3 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Adjective

1
Defamatory, libeling, referring to something that causes harm to someone's reputation especially with malice or disregard. US
"The accusation was libelous, full of falsehoods, spite and malice."
2
Meeting the legal standards for libel. US
"The court found the statement was not libelous because it was true."

Adjective

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

"When freedom of the press was fresh, newspapers were even more scurrilous and libelous than today."

From libel + -ous.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.