the publication of defamatory matter in permanent form, as by a written or printed statement, picture, etc
b.
the act of publishing such matter
2.
any defamatory or unflattering representation or statement
3. ecclesiastical law
a claimant's written statement of claim
4. Scots law
the formal statement of a charge
verbWord forms: -bels, -belling, -belledWord forms: US-bels, -beling or -beled(transitive)
5. law
to make or publish a defamatory statement or representation about (a person)
6.
to misrepresent injuriously
7. ecclesiastical law
to bring an action against (a person) in the ecclesiastical courts
Derived forms
libeller (ˈlibeller) or libelist (ˈlibelist)
noun
libellous (ˈlibellous) or libelous (ˈlibelous)
adjective
Word origin
C13 (in the sense: written statement), hence C14 legal sense: a plaintiff's statement,via Old French from Latin libellus a little book, from liber a book
Examples of 'libelled' in a sentence
libelled
But the real miracle these days is that any celebrity gets libelled at all.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Persons who believed they had been libelled had recourse to the civil and criminal courts.
The Times Literary Supplement (2010)
Individuals defamed or libelled by them should have access to justice regardless of their means.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
The jury said he'd been libelled, but awarded him 'zero damages', later amended to 1p by the judge.