defame

English

Etymology

From Middle English defamen, from Anglo-Norman defamer (verb), defame (noun), and its source, Latin diffāmō, from fāma (“fame; rumour; reputation”).

Pronunciation

(UK) IPA^(key): /dɪˈfeɪm/
- Audio (Southern England): (file)
Rhymes: -eɪm

Verb

defame (third-person singular simple present defames, present participle defaming, simple past and past participle defamed)

To disgrace; to bring into disrepute. [from 4th c.]
- 1697, Virgil, “The Tenth Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
  My guilt thy growing virtues did defame; / My blackness blotted thy unblemish'd name.
(now chiefly historical) To charge; to accuse (someone) of an offence. [from 14th c.]
Rebecca is […] defamed of sorcery practised on the person of a noble knight.
To harm or diminish the reputation of; to disparage. [from 4th c.]
to defame somebody

Synonyms

See Thesaurus:defame

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

to harm, to diminish the reputation of

Bulgarian: позоря (bg) (pozorja), хуля (bg) (hulja)
Catalan: difamar (ca)
Czech: pomluvit (cs)
Finnish: panetella (fi)
French: diffamer (fr)
German: diffamieren (de)
Greek: κακολογώ (el) (kakologó), συκοφαντώ (el) (sykofantó)
Ancient: κακολογέω (kakologéō), βλασφημέω (blasphēméō)
Hebrew: השמיץ (hishmítz)
Ingrian: hävätä
Irish: aithisigh
Latin: diffāmō
Maori: tūtara, oro, whakakino ingoa, taiaroa
Ngazidja Comorian: ukalia
Portuguese: difamar (pt)
Romanian: defăima (ro)
Russian: поро́чить (ru) impf (poróčitʹ), позо́рить (ru) impf (pozóritʹ), хули́ть (ru) impf (xulítʹ), поноси́ть (ru) impf (ponosítʹ)
Spanish: difamar (es), arruinar la reputación
Swedish: ärekränka, förtala (sv), baktala (sv), baktala (sv), smutskasta (sv), diskreditera (sv)
Thai: หมิ่นประมาท (th) (mìn-bprà-màat)

to disgrace, bring into disrepute

Bulgarian: клеветя (bg) (klevetja)
Catalan: difamar (ca)
Faroese: æruskemma
Finnish: herjata (fi)
German: diffamieren (de)
Greek: συκοφαντώ (el) (sykofantó), λιβελλογραφώ (livellografó)
Maori: whakakino ingoa
Portuguese: difamar (pt)
Romanian: defăima (ro)
Russian: клевета́ть (ru) impf (klevetátʹ)
Serbo-Croatian: клеветати (klevetati)
Spanish: difamar (es)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} fifamigi

Noun

defame (countable and uncountable, plural defames)

(now rare, archaic) Disgrace, dishonour. [from 14th c.]
- 1613, John Marston, William Barksted, The Insatiate Countess, I.1:
  And all the sparks that may bring unto flame / Hate betwixt man and wife, or breed defame.
(now rare or nonstandard) Defamation; slander, libel. [from 15th c.]