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

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for libeled

Verb

Sweat glistened on the white foundation smeared across her face.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Sep. 2026
One prank involved Quan, Capshaw, and Harrison Ford surprising Spielberg with ice cream smeared all over their faces for one take.

— Marina Watts, Entertainment Weekly, 19 Sep. 2026

Definition of smeared

Verb

But the Saudis, humiliated by their losses in Yemen, seem likely to lash out.

— Kareem Fahim, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2026
When she and the other part-time employees were told their positions were being eliminated, Valcarcel said she felt humiliated and disrespected.

— Verónica Egui Brito, Miami Herald, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of humiliated

Verb

Multiple reports indicate the royal family is less than pleased with Charles Spencer’s new book, but disgraced ex-Prince Andrew is reportedly one of its biggest fans.

— Allison DeGrushe, StyleCaster, 4 Oct. 2026
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

Definition of disgraced

Verb

Clemishire’s lawsuit, which was filed in 2025, claimed that Morris and other church leaders defamed her in an internal statement to staff and mischaracterized the abuse.

— Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Sep. 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

What is often maligned as one of the worst tracks for racing due to the lack of overtaking opportunities will now have an extra race, surely opening the door for even more criticism.

— Luke Smith, New York Times, 16 Sep. 2026
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

Definition of maligned

Verb

Some of this was exacerbated by going to Duke, of course, which has a history of some of its best players being vilified nationwide.

— Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 30 Sep. 2026
But Timothy Leary’s version became the dominant idea of psychedelics, and when President Ronald Reagan’s War on Drugs began, psychedelics were vilified as the gateway to ruin.

— Claire Hoffman, Rolling Stone, 21 Sep. 2026

Definition of vilified

Verb

The arrival of Dutch elm disease not only ravaged these green spaces, but discredited the whole goal of aiming for such uniformity.

— Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2026
The issue here is not with this project, which is building something artistic and beautiful, but with a broader, pro-AI tech culture that has discredited AI and its public image.

— James Folta, Literary Hub, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of discredited

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libel

libeled

libeler

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“Libeled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/libeled. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of libeled

verb

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