libel
/ˈlaɪbəl/ noun C1- A written or pictorial false statement which unjustly seeks to damage someone's reputation.
- The act or tort of displaying such a statement publicly.
- Any defamatory writing; a lampoon; a satire.
- A written declaration or statement by the plaintiff of their cause of action, and of the relief they seek.
- A brief writing of any kind, especially a declaration, bill, certificate, request, supplication, etc. · a libel of forsaking [divorcement]
Plural libels
From the library
But in calling Moriarty a criminal you are uttering libel in the eyes of the law—and there lie the glory and the wonder of it!
He told the nurse that she was dreaming, that her suspicions were those of a lunatic, and that such libels upon her mistress were not to be tolerated.
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