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slan·der 1 /'slan-dər/ vt: to utter slander againstslan·der·er nslander 2 n [Anglo-French esclandre, from Old French escandle esclandre scandal, from Late Latin scandalum moral stumbling block, disgrace, from Greek skandalon, literally, snare, trap]1: defamation of a person by unprivileged oral communication made to a third party; also: defamatory oral statements2: the tort of oral defamation◇ An action for slander may be brought without alleging and proving special damages if the statements in question have a plainly harmful character, as by imputing to the plaintiff criminal guilt, serious sexual misconduct, or conduct or a characteristic affecting his or her business or profession.slan·der·ous /'slan-də-rəs/ adjslan·der·ous·ly advslan·der·ous·ness n
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam-Webster. 1996.
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I
noun
abusive language, accusation, aspersion, calumnia, calumniation, calumny, censure, character assassination, criminatio, damaging report, defamation, defamatory words, denigration, denunciation, disparagement, execration, false report, imprecation, insinuation, invective, libel, maledictio, malicious report, obloquy, opprobrium, reproach, revilement, scandal, scurrility, slur, smear, stricture, traducement, vilification
associated concepts: malice, publication, slander of title, slander per quod, slander per se
II
index
aspersion, defamation, defame, denigrate, disparage, libel, malign, smear, tarnish, vilification
Burton's Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006
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n.Making a false and defamatory oral statement about someone that can injure his or her reputation; oral defamation.v.slander See also libel, defamation
The Essential Law Dictionary. — Sphinx Publishing, An imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. Amy Hackney Blackwell. 2008.
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An untruthful oral (spoken) statement about a person that harms the person's reputation or standing in the community. Because slander is a tort (a civil wrong), the injured person can bring a lawsuit against the person who made the false statement. If the statement is made via broadcast media — for example, over the radio or on TV — it is considered libel, rather than slander, because the statement has the potential to reach a very wide audience. Both libel and slander are forms of defamation. (See also: defamation)Category: Accidents & InjuriesCategory: Small Claims Court & Lawsuits
Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary. Gerald N. Hill, Kathleen Thompson Hill. 2009.
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n. Falsely spoken words that tend to damage another person's reputation; defamation. The truth of such words is an absolute defense against slander. Unlike libel, unless the slander is defamatory per se, damages caused by slander must be proven by the plaintiff.See also libel.@ slander per quodA form of slander that does not qualify as slander per se, thereby requiring the plaintiff to prove special damages.@ slander per seA form of slander that need not be proven to qualify for damage, because its meaning is apparent on the face of the statement and involves moral turpitude, a sexually transmitted disease, conduct adversely impacting one's profession or business, or lack of chastity (especially when applied to women).@
Webster's New World Law Dictionary. Susan Ellis Wild. 2000.
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Spoken defamation which tends to injure a person's reputation. (See libel.)
Short Dictionary of (mostly American) Legal Terms and Abbreviations.
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n.oral defamation, in which someone tells one or more persons an untruth about another, which untruth will harm the reputation of the person defamed. Slander is a civil wrong (tort) and can be the basis for a lawsuit. Damages (payoff for worth) for slander may be limited to actual (special) damages unless there is malicious intent, since such damages are usually difficult to specify and harder to prove. Some statements, such as an untrue accusation of having committed a crime, having a loathsome disease or being unable to perform one's occupation, are treated as slander per se since the harm and malice are obvious and therefore usually result in general and even punitive damage recovery by the person harmed. Words spoken over the air on television or radio are treated as libel (written defamation) and not slander on the theory that broadcasting reaches a large audience as much as if not more than printed publications.
Law dictionary. EdwART. 2013.
