libel
to say bad things about, to badmouth someone
TRANSLATION
Verb to libel = beleidigen; verleumden; verunglimpfen Noun libel = die Beleidigung; ehrenkränkende Behauptung; die Ehrverletzung; schriftliche Verleumdung; üble Nachrede; die Verleumdung Phrases: to sue for libel = wegen Verleumdung verklagen libel action = die Beleidigungsklage libel and slander = Verleumdung und üble Nachrede libel suit = der Beleidigungsprozess LEO
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
In January 1993, Virgin Atlantic boss Richard Branson won a LIBEL suit against Lord King's British Airways, which admitted to having launched a "dirty tricks" campaign against its rival.
BA staff leaked stories to the press questioning Virgin's safety standards; hacked into Virgin's reservations system; called Virgin customers, lied about cancellations, and switched them to BA flights; and circulated rumours that Branson had AIDS and that garbagemen were unwilling to collect the trash at a Branson-owned nightclub because it included HIV-infected needles!
Branson won a public apology (and $900,000) from BA.
Branson, Richard (1950- ) British entrepreneur, founder of Virgin Records and Virgin Airways
BA staff leaked stories to the press questioning Virgin's safety standards; hacked into Virgin's reservations system; called Virgin customers, lied about cancellations, and switched them to BA flights; and circulated rumours that Branson had AIDS and that garbagemen were unwilling to collect the trash at a Branson-owned nightclub because it included HIV-infected needles!
Branson won a public apology (and $900,000) from BA.
Branson, Richard (1950- ) British entrepreneur, founder of Virgin Records and Virgin Airways
Did you
know?
li-bel
noun
1. a. A false publication, as in writing, print, signs, or pictures, that damages a person's reputation.
b. The act of presenting such material to the public.
LI-BEL
verb
To publish a libel about (a person).
Middle English, litigant's written complaint, from Old French, from Latin libellus, diminutive of liber, book
Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Synonyms:
malign, defame, traduce, vilify, asperse, slander, calumniate, libel
These verbs mean to make evil, harmful, often untrue statements about another.
MALIGN stresses malicious intent: “Have I not taken your part when you were maligned?” (Thackeray).
DEFAME suggests damage to reputation through misrepresentation: The plaintiff had been defamed and had legitimate grounds for a lawsuit.
TRADUCE connotes the resulting humiliation or disgrace: “My character was traduced by Captain Hawkins... even the ship's company cried out shame” (Frederick Marryat).
VILIFY pertains to open, deliberate, vicious defamation: “One who belongs to the most vilified and persecuted minority in history is not likely to be insensible to the freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution” (Felix Frankfurter).
To ASPERSE is to spread unfavorable charges or insinuations against: “Who could be so base as to asperse the character of a family so harmless as ours?” (Oliver Goldsmith).
SLANDER and CALUMNIATE apply to oral expression: He slandered his political opponent. She calumniated and ridiculed her former employer. Libel involves the communication of written or pictorial material: The celebrity sued the tabloid that libeled her.
IMPRESS YOUR FRIENDS TODAY
say something like:
"After being libeled, the company won the court action and won significant damages"
noun
1. a. A false publication, as in writing, print, signs, or pictures, that damages a person's reputation.
b. The act of presenting such material to the public.
LI-BEL
verb
To publish a libel about (a person).
Middle English, litigant's written complaint, from Old French, from Latin libellus, diminutive of liber, book
Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Synonyms:
malign, defame, traduce, vilify, asperse, slander, calumniate, libel
These verbs mean to make evil, harmful, often untrue statements about another.
MALIGN stresses malicious intent: “Have I not taken your part when you were maligned?” (Thackeray).
DEFAME suggests damage to reputation through misrepresentation: The plaintiff had been defamed and had legitimate grounds for a lawsuit.
TRADUCE connotes the resulting humiliation or disgrace: “My character was traduced by Captain Hawkins... even the ship's company cried out shame” (Frederick Marryat).
VILIFY pertains to open, deliberate, vicious defamation: “One who belongs to the most vilified and persecuted minority in history is not likely to be insensible to the freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution” (Felix Frankfurter).
To ASPERSE is to spread unfavorable charges or insinuations against: “Who could be so base as to asperse the character of a family so harmless as ours?” (Oliver Goldsmith).
SLANDER and CALUMNIATE apply to oral expression: He slandered his political opponent. She calumniated and ridiculed her former employer. Libel involves the communication of written or pictorial material: The celebrity sued the tabloid that libeled her.
IMPRESS YOUR FRIENDS TODAY
say something like:
"After being libeled, the company won the court action and won significant damages"
