libel

Từ điển Oxford Advanced Learner 8th

libel [libel libels libelled libeled libelling libeling] noun, verb BrE [ˈlaɪbl] NAmE [ˈlaɪbl]
noun uncountable, countable
the act of printing a statement about sb that is not true and that gives people a bad opinion of them
•He sued the newspaper for libel.
•a libel action (= a case in a court of law)
compare ↑slander

Word Origin:
Middle English (in the general sense ‘a document, a written statement’): via Old French from Latin libellus, diminutive of liber ‘book’.

Example Bank:
•In a libel action a newspaper must prove that any comments it printed are true.

 
verb (-ll-, especially US -l-)~ sb
to publish a written statement about sb that is not true
•He claimed he had been libelled in an article the magazine had published.
compare ↑slander
Verb forms:

Word Origin:
Middle English (in the general sense ‘a document, a written statement’): via Old French from Latin libellus, diminutive of liber ‘book’.