Standard Lemma guide

slander

noun · verb · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈslɑːndə/
  • Received-Pronunciation, obsolete: /ˈslandə/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /ˈslændɚ/
  • Australian: /ˈslaːndə/
  • Australian: /ˈslændə/
  • New-Zealand: /ˈslaːndə/
  • New-Zealand: /ˈslɛndə/
  • rhymes with -ændə(ɹ)
  • rhymes with -ɑːndə
  • CMU ARPABET: S L AE1 N D ER0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A false or unsupported, malicious statement (spoken, not written), especially one which is injurious to a person's reputation; the making of such a statement.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Vehement (and often exaggerated) criticism of a character, franchise, etc.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Internet, countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

To utter a slanderous statement about; baselessly speak ill of; to wrong.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

an abusive attack on a person's character or good name

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: aspersion, calumny, defamation, denigration

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: attack

5

noun

Meaning 5

words falsely spoken that damage the reputation of another

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: defamation, calumny, calumniation, obloquy, traducement, hatchet job, speech act

Narrower terms: mud

6

verb

Meaning 6

charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • The journalists have defamed me!
  • The article in the paper sullied my reputation

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: defame, smirch, asperse, denigrate, calumniate, smear, sully, besmirch

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: charge, accuse

Narrower terms: assassinate, libel, badmouth, malign, traduce, drag through the mud

History

Etymology

From Middle English slaundre, sclaundre, from Old French esclandre, from Ecclesiastical Latin scandalum (“stumbling block, temptation”), from Ancient Greek σκάνδαλον (skándalon, “scandal”). Doublet of scandal.

Across languages

Translations

213 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Albanian: shpifje — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Arabic: تَشْهِير (tašhīr) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Arabic: اِفْتِرَاء (iftirāʔ) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Arabic: بُهْتَان (buhtān) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Arabic: سِعَايَة (siʕāya) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Armenian: զրպարտություն (zrpartutʻyun) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Azerbaijani: böhtan — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Azerbaijani: iftira — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Belarusian: паклёп (pakljóp) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Belarusian: намо́ва (namóva) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Belarusian: нагаво́р (nahavór) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Bengali: এলজাম (eljam) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Bulgarian: клевета́ (klevetá) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Bulgarian: ху́ла (húla) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Bulgarian: хула́ (hulá) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Catalan: calúmnia — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Catalan: injúria — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Chinese Mandarin: 毀謗 /毁谤 (huǐbàng) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Chinese Mandarin: 誹謗 /诽谤 (fěibàng) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Chinese Mandarin: 謗 /谤 (bàng) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Chinese Mandarin: 誣蔑 /诬蔑 (wūmiè) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Chinese Mandarin: 讒言 /谗言 (chányán) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Chinese Mandarin: 中傷 /中伤 (zhòngshāng) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Cornish: sklander — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Czech: pomluva — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Czech: kleveta — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Danish: bagvaskelse — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Dutch: laster — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Esperanto: kalumnio — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Finnish: suullinen kunnianloukkaus — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • French: diffamation (orale) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • French: calomnie (orale) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Georgian: ცილისწამება (cilisc̣ameba) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • German: Verleumdung — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • German: Lästerung — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • German: Diffamierung — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Gothic: 𐍅𐌰𐌾𐌰𐌼𐌴𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌽𐍃 (wajamēreins) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Greek: συκοφαντία (sykofantía) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Greek: διαβολή (diavolí) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Ancient Greek: διαβολή (diabolḗ) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Ancient Greek: βλασφημία (blasphēmía) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Hindi: मानहानि (mānhāni) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Hindi: लांछन (lāñchan) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Hungarian: rágalom — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Hungarian: rágalmazás — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Icelandic: rógur — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Icelandic: rógburður — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Irish: míchlú — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Italian: calunnia — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Italian: diffamazione — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Italian: maldicenza — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Italian: chiacchiera — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Italian: diceria — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Japanese: 中傷 (chūshō) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Japanese: 誹謗 (hibō) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Japanese: 讒言 (zangen) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Kazakh: жала (jala) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Korean: 악담 (akdam) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Korean: 중상 (jungsang) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Korean: 훼방 (hwebang) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Korean: 비방 (bibang) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Korean: 손가락질 (son'garakjil) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Kyrgyz: жалаа (jalaa) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Latin: calumnia — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Latin: blasphēmia — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Latvian: apmelošana — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Lithuanian: apkalba — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Lithuanian: pljotkai — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Macedonian: клевета (kleveta) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Malay: fitnah — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Māori: komekome — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Māori: whakakinokino — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Māori: tarawau — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Norwegian Bokmål: bakvaskelse — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Persian: تُهمَت (tohmat) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Persian: اِفتِرا (efterâ) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Persian: بُهتان (bohtân) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Persian: سِعایَت (se'âyat) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Plautdietsch: Lastrunk — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Polish: oszczerstwo — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Polish: pomówienie — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Polish: zniesławienie — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Portuguese: calúnia — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Portuguese: injúria — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Portuguese: aleive — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Portuguese: aleivosia — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Romanian: defăimare — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Romanian: calomnie — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Russian: клевета́ (klevetá) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Russian: злосло́вие (zloslóvije) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Russian: наве́т (navét) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Russian: нагово́р (nagovór) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Russian: хула́ (xulá) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Russian: поноше́ние (ponošénije) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Russian: поро́чение (poróčenije) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Russian: ха́янье (xájanʹje) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Russian: поклёп (pokljóp) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Russian: напра́слина (napráslina) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Samogitian: pljotkā — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Serbo-Croatian: potvora — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Serbo-Croatian: hula — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Serbo-Croatian: клѐвета — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Serbo-Croatian: о̏бједа — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Serbo-Croatian: klèveta — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Serbo-Croatian: ȍbjeda — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Slovak: ohováranie — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Slovak: hanobenie — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Slovak: klebeta — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Slovene: kleveta — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Somali: xan — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Swahili: kashfa — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Swedish: förtal — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Tagalog: paninirang-puri — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Tajik: туҳмат (tuhmat) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Tajik: буҳтон (buhton) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Tajik: ифтиро (iftiro) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Tajik: сиоят (sioyat) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Telugu: కొండెము (koṇḍemu) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Turkish: sözel iftira — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Turkish: sözle iftira — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Turkish: şifahi iftira — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Turkish: iftira — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Ukrainian: на́клеп (náklep) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Ukrainian: по́клеп (póklep) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Ukrainian: обмо́ва (obmóva) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Ukrainian: лихослі́в'я (lyxoslívʺja) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Urdu: بُہْتان (bohtān) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Urdu: اِہانَت (ihānat) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Urdu: سِعایَت (si'āyat) — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Uzbek: tuhmat — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Uzbek: boʻhton — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Uzbek: gʻiybat — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Uzbek: iftiro — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Welsh: athrod — false or unsupported spoken malicious statement
  • Bengali: এলজাম দেওয়া (elzam deẇa) — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Bulgarian: клеветя (klevetja) — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Catalan: calumniar — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Catalan: injuriar — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Chinese Mandarin: 毀謗 /毁谤 (huǐbàng) — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Chinese Mandarin: 誹謗 /诽谤 (fěibàng) — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Chinese Mandarin: 中傷 /中伤 (zhòngshāng) — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Chinese Mandarin: 詆毀 /诋毁 (dǐhuǐ) — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Cornish: sklandra — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Czech: pomluvit — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Danish: bagtale — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Dutch: smaden — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Dutch: lasteren — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Esperanto: kalumnii — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Farefare: dõrɛ — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Finnish: suullisesti loukata jonkun kunniaa — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Finnish: panetella — utter a slanderous statement about
  • French: calomnier verbalement — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Galician: deostar — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Galician: calumniar — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Galician: inxuriar — utter a slanderous statement about
  • German: mündlich verleumden — utter a slanderous statement about
  • German: mündlich verunglimpfen — utter a slanderous statement about
  • German: verleumden — utter a slanderous statement about
  • German: diffamieren — utter a slanderous statement about
  • German: schmähen — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Gothic: 𐍅𐌰𐌾𐌰𐌼𐌴𐍂𐌾𐌰𐌽 (wajamērjan) — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Greek: συκοφαντώ (sykofantó) — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Greek: διαβάλλω (diavállo) — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Greek: διασύρω (diasýro) — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Ancient Greek: διαβάλλω (diabállō) — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Ancient Greek: ὄνομαι (ónomai) — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Hindi: लांछन लगाना (lāñchan lagānā) — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Hungarian: rágalmaz — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Italian: diffamare — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Italian: infangare — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Italian: infamare — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Italian: denigrare — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Italian: calunniare — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Japanese: 中傷する (chūshō suru) — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Japanese: 讒言する (zangen suru) — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Korean: 갈붙이다 (galbuchida) — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Korean: 훼방하다 (hwebanghada) — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Korean: 중상하다 (jungsanghada) — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Korean: 자훼하다 (jahwehada) — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Korean: 손가락질하다 (son'garakjilhada) — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Lithuanian: šmeižti — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Luxembourgish: beklaatschen — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Macedonian: клевети (kleveti) — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Māori: tūtara — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Māori: tarawau — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Māori: mure — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Moore: rõde — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Moore: dõde — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: sverta — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: ærekrenkja — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Polish: szkalować — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Portuguese: caluniar — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Portuguese: injuriar — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Portuguese: difamar — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Romanian: defăima — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Russian: клевета́ть (klevetátʹ) — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Russian: злосло́вить (zloslóvitʹ) — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Russian: поро́чить (poróčitʹ) — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Russian: ха́ять (xájatʹ) — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Russian: хули́ть (xulítʹ) — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Russian: нагова́ривать (nagovárivatʹ) — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Russian: очерня́ть (očernjátʹ) — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Scottish Gaelic: càin — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Serbo-Croatian: klevetati — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Serbo-Croatian: клеветати — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Spanish: calumniar — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Spanish: dejar negro — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Spanish: pelar — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Swedish: baktala — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Swedish: förtala — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Thai: ใส่ร้าย (sài-ráai) — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Thai: นินทา (nin-taa) — utter a slanderous statement about
  • Welsh: athrodi — utter a slanderous statement about