How to Use libel in a Sentence

libel

noun
  • The newspaper was found guilty of libel.
  • He sued the newspaper for libel.
  • The newspaper's attorneys argued that the article was not a libel.
  • The libel case was part of a series of problems for Depp.
    Sharareh Drury, Billboard, 16 Aug. 2021
  • The Times libeled Palin, so the Times deserves to lose her libel suit.
    Kevin D. Williamson, National Review, 6 Feb. 2022
  • It's been 18 months since Depp lost his U.K. libel case.
    Benjamin Vanhoose, PEOPLE.com, 1 June 2022
  • Sued for libel by the mayor’s 80-year-old niece, Profs.
    Lawrence Douglas, WSJ, 7 Apr. 2021
  • The libel case filed by his half-brother is dismissed by the court.
    CNN, 14 Feb. 2022
  • Depp and Heard took the stand in May over competing libel charges.
    Amy Haneline, USA TODAY, 15 Dec. 2022
  • Johnny Depp lost a libel case against a British tabloid.
    Ashley Shaffer, USA TODAY, 2 Nov. 2020
  • The actress’ plea to dismiss the suit after Depp lost his libel case in the U.K. was denied.
    J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 9 Apr. 2022
  • The outing comes after Depp sued a British tabloid for libel.
    Ale Russian, PEOPLE.com, 13 June 2018
  • In a public filing in England, he was sued for libel based on the dossier.
    NBC News, 7 Jan. 2018
  • Correa sued them for libel, and both men were sentenced to 18 months in prison.
    Diana Durán, Washington Post, 10 Aug. 2023
  • The loss of his libel case is a big blow to Depp and could cost him lucrative acting roles.
    William Booth, Washington Post, 2 Nov. 2020
  • Her assets had been frozen as part of a libel case, one of 47 suits pending against her.
    Nicholas Kulish, New York Times, 17 Apr. 2018
  • The site claimed that Kweli could’ve sued them for libel, but the statute of limitations had passed last year.
    Vulture, 9 Aug. 2022
  • Doronin sued, alleging libel and defamation, and swaths of the ski town turned against him.
    Chris Pomorski, Curbed, 17 Oct. 2022
  • Robertson sued for libel, but later dropped the suit and agreed to pay McCloskey’s court costs.
    Rebecca Trounson, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2023
  • His $50 million libel battle with Heard picked up in Virginia court the week of the film's release.
    Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 19 Apr. 2022
  • Those claims amounted to slander and libel, the lawsuit says.
    Dustin Gardiner, azcentral, 15 June 2018
  • The wives of two British soccer superstars are at the center of a libel case in London this month.
    Emily Burack, Town & Country, 16 May 2022
  • The third friend, who is himself an ex-boyfriend of hers, sends a string of voice notes advising her about libel laws.
    Hazlitt, 7 Feb. 2024
  • If this is correct, then the rapper would be liable for libel.
    James Freeman, WSJ, 17 Mar. 2021
  • In the countersuit, Depp was found guilty of one charge of libel and Heard was awarded $2 million.
    Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 27 July 2023
  • And since a libel case requires proof of falsity, their case was doomed.
    Jack Greiner, Cincinnati.com, 22 June 2017
  • The couple wed in 1828, but a year later David was convicted of libel and spent six months in jail.
    Brenda Wineapple, The New York Review of Books, 19 Oct. 2022
  • This is not unusual; in the US, libel, even for private figures, is hard to prove.
    Michelle Cheng, Quartz, 7 June 2023
  • Some who post may be sued for defamation, libel, or slander.
    Gloria Allred, Marie Claire, 6 Feb. 2018
  • People might find themselves on the wrong end of a defamation or libel lawsuit.
    Vic Ryckaert, Indianapolis Star, 19 July 2017

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'libel.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: