Slander
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 A false or unsupported, malicious statement (spoken, not written), especially one which is injurious to a person's reputation; the making of such a statement. countable, uncountable
- 2 an abusive attack on a person's character or good name wordnet
- 3 words falsely spoken that damage the reputation of another wordnet
- 1 To utter a slanderous statement about; baselessly speak ill of; to wrong.
"Tuc[ca]. […] Can thy Author doe it impudently enough? Hiſt[rio]. O, I warrant you, Captaine: and ſpitefully inough too; he ha's one of the moſt ouerflowing villanous wits, in Rome. He will ſlander any man that breathes; If he diſguſt him. Tucca. I'le know the poor, egregious, nitty Raſcall; and he haue ſuch commendable Qualities, I'le cheriſh him: […]"
- 2 charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone wordnet
Example
More examples"* The basic prohibitions (No slander, libel, etc.) are noted in the "Read me first." Please be sure to read it."
Etymology
From Middle English slaundre, sclaundre, from Old French esclandre, from Ecclesiastical Latin scandalum (“stumbling block, temptation”), from Ancient Greek σκάνδαλον (skándalon, “scandal”). Doublet of scandal.
Related phrases
More for "slander"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.