LIBELED Synonyms: 40 Similar and Opposite Words

libeled

verb

variants or libelled

past tense of libel

as in smeared

to make untrue and harmful statements about the court decided that the newspaper's reportage of the former mayor, while irresponsible, did not constitute an effort to libel him

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for libeled

Verb

Camille can still picture Burke standing over her, fake blood smeared across her dress.

— Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 5 Aug. 2026
There’s rarely anything as straightforward as a kick drum, a hi-hat, or even a bassline here; instead, everything is smeared, all origins occulted in a thicket of echoes and reflections.

— Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of smeared

Verb

In their first national title game, the Wildcats humiliated Oklahoma in the national semifinal by 44, and in their second, demoralized Michigan in the title game by 17.

— Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 18 Aug. 2026
After being publicly humiliated by Daemon Targaryen and lured to switch sides (with his dragon) to the Greens by Ormund Hightower, party animal Ulf is still drunk and MIA when the battle starts.

— Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of humiliated

Verb

Eugenie, who is twelfth in line to the British throne, is the second daughter of King Charles III’s disgraced younger brother, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.

— Jack Guy, CNN Money, 18 Aug. 2026
The pair’s announcement comes shortly after RadarOnline reported that Eugenie’s father, disgraced former Prince Andrew, will not meet Adelaide in person.

— Allison DeGrushe, StyleCaster, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of disgraced

Verb

The suit, filed last year by Cindy Clemishire and her father, claimed that Gateway Church’s founder Robert Morris and other church leaders defamed Clemishire in an internal statement to staff.

— Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Aug. 2026
Baldoni also filed a countersuit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, in January 2025, alleging that the couple and their PR firm had defamed him and Wayfarer Studios.

— Leigh Blickley, Entertainment Weekly, 27 July 2026

Definition of defamed

Verb

Slack continues to be a bright spot in the results — a major reversal from a couple years ago, when the company was maligned for paying too much to acquire the workplace messaging app during the Covid-19 pandemic.

— Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 27 Aug. 2026
City Hall is extending the deadline for New Yorkers seeking an exemption to the highly controversial — and much maligned —pied-à-terre tax law, Mayor Mamdani announced Saturday.

— Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 1 Aug. 2026

Definition of maligned

Verb

But the backlash against pandemic responses, including vaccine mandates, led to the vaccines and mRNA technology being vilified by some and becoming the focus of widespread misinformation.

— Rob Stein, NPR, 6 Aug. 2026
Durant was vilified for leaving Oklahoma City at the peak of his powers to join the ascendant dynasty in the Bay Area alongside two-time reigning MVP Stephen Curry, Thompson and Draymond Green.

— Devon Henderson, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of vilified

Verb

Inflicting these details on the jury, the children’s family members, and the public served no discernible purpose in establishing Clancy’s mens rea, which might have discredited her not-guilty plea.

— Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2026
After the exam was discredited, at least 20 students died by suicide, according to Agence France-Presse.

— Philip Wang, Time, 25 July 2026

Definition of discredited

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

libel

libeled

libeler

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Libeled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/libeled. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of libeled

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

conscientious

Popular in Grammar & Usage

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Popular in Wordplay

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Games & Quizzes