1. containing false statements that damage someone’s reputation
Usage: legal

Examples

• The newspaper was sued for publishing defamatory articles about the mayor.
• His defamatory comments about his former employer cost him the job.
• The court ruled that the social media posts were defamatory and ordered them removed.
• She refused to repeat the defamatory rumors circulating about her colleague.
• The company’s lawyers warned against making any defamatory statements to the press.
• The defamatory review contained several false accusations about the restaurant’s hygiene.