Defame \De*fame"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Defamed; p. pr. & vb.
n. Defaming.] [OE. defamen, diffamen, from F. diffamer, or
OF. perh. defamer, fr. L. diffamare (cf. defamatus infamous);
dis- (in this word confused with de) + fama a report. See
Fame.]
1. To harm or destroy the good fame or reputation of; to
disgrace; especially, to speak evil of maliciously; to
dishonor by slanderous reports; to calumniate; to asperse.
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2. To render infamous; to bring into disrepute.
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My guilt thy growing virtues did defame;
My blackness blotted thy unblemish'd name. --Dryden.
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3. To charge; to accuse. [R.]
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Rebecca is . . . defamed of sorcery practiced on the
person of a noble knight. --Sir W.
Scott.
Syn: To asperse; slander; calumniate; vilify. See Asperse.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Defame \De*fame"\, n.
Dishonor. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
defame
v : charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good
name and reputation of someone; "The journalists have
defamed me!" "The article in the paper sullied my
reputation" [syn: slander, smirch, asperse, denigrate,
calumniate, smear, sully, besmirch]
WordNet (r) 2.0
39 Moby Thesaurus words for "defame":
asperse, attaint, bad-mouth, belie, bespatter, blacken, blot,
blow upon, brand, calumniate, cast aspersions on,
cast reflections on, censure, defile, denigrate, disapprove,
disparage, expose, expose to infamy, gibbet, hang in effigy, libel,
malign, misrepresent, pillory, reprimand, scandalize, slander,
slur, smear, soil, stain, stigmatize, sully, taint, tarnish,
throw mud at, traduce, vilify
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
DEFAME, v.t. To lie about another. To tell the truth about another.
THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993)
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