the act of printing a statement about somebody that is not true and that gives people a bad opinion of them; the statement that is printed（文字）诽谤，中伤- He sued the newspaper for libel.他控告那家报社犯有诽谤罪。🔊🔊
- libel against somebody The article was a serious libel against the professor.这篇文章是对教授的严重诽谤。
- a libel action (= a case in a court of law)诽谤诉讼
- In a libel action a newspaper must prove that any comments it printed are true.在诽谤诉讼中，报社必须证明自己发表的任何评论都是真实的。
compare slanderTopics Crime and punishmentc2Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- alleged
- criminal
- seditious
- …
verb + libel- sue (somebody) for
- claim
- deny
- …
libel + nounprepositionSee full entry Word OriginMiddle English (in the general sense ‘a document, a written statement’): via Old French from Latin libellus, diminutive of liber ‘book’.