defamatory
adj.adj. describing a statement that is meant to harm someone's reputation. If you say something that makes people think badly of a person or business, it is defamatory.
adj. intended to injure the reputation of another by exposing them to hatred, contempt, or ridicule. Often used in legal contexts to describe statements that may constitute a civil wrong.
The newspaper published a defamatory article about the politician.
The company sued the former employee for making defamatory remarks about their leadership during a public interview.
The court ruled that the social media posts were defamatory, noting that the specific allegations were false and likely to cause significant financial harm to the plaintiff's business.
From Middle French diffamatoire (altered after the prefix de-), from Medieval Latin diffāmātōrius.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Last updated May 20, 2026