The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word LIBEL , but the solution may also be SMEAR which is one of the most recent solution (2024 in New York Times).
Defame crossword clue answers
Here's a list of possible crossword answers ranked by the most likely to least likely.
| Answer | Likelyness | Letters |
|---|---|---|
| LIBEL | 22 % | 5 |
| ABASE | 19 % | 5 |
| SMEAR | 17 % | 5 |
| TRADUCE | 11 % | 7 |
| SLUR | 5 % | 4 |
| ASPERSE | 3 % | 7 |
| MALIGN | 3 % | 6 |
| DENIGRATE | 3 % | 9 |
| VILIFY | 3 % | 6 |
| SLANDER | 3 % | 7 |
| BLACKEN | 3 % | 7 |
| DIS | 2 % | 3 |
| SPATTER | 2 % | 7 |
| TAR | 2 % | 3 |
| DISCREDIT | 2 % | 9 |
Why may SMEAR be the right solution?
The word "SMEAR" means to defame or damage someone's reputation by spreading false information about them. So, "SMEAR" is the right answer to the clue "Defame."
Words with a meaning similar to the clue: Defame
These words may or may not be a possible solution to this crosswords clue.- denigrate
- calumniate
- slander
- sully
- besmirch
- smirch
- smear
- asperse
- vilify
- discredit
- malign
- libel
Crossword Answer definitions
LIBEL noun- A written or pictorial false statement which unjustly seeks to damage someone's reputation.
- The act or crime of displaying such a statement publicly.
- Any defamatory writing; a lampoon; a satire.
- A written declaration or statement by the plaintiff of their cause of action, and of the relief they seek.
- A brief writing of any kind, especially a declaration, bill, certificate, request, supplication, etc.
- To defame someone, especially in a manner that meets the legal definition of libel.
- To proceed against (a ship, goods, etc.) by filing a libel.
More crossword clues leading to the same solutions
Here's a few more crossword clues - all leading to the identical solution
More clues leading to the result LIBEL
- Defame in print
- Defame in writing
- Type of suit
- Material for a then-record £8,000 Liberace suit in 1959
- Absence of Malice topic
- Smear in ink
- Smear in print
- Defamation
- Calumny's kin
- What Wilde sued the marquess of Queensberry for
More clues leading to the result ABASE
More clues leading to the result SMEAR
- Vilify during a campaign
- Libel
- Mess up the makeup
- Bad mouth
- Talk shit about
- ___ campaign
- Tarnish
- Apply Vaseline
- Besmirch
- Blurry mess
More clues leading to the result TRADUCE
More clues leading to the result SLUR
- Aspersion
- Pronounce indistinctly
- Disparage
- Calumny
- Bad-mouth
- Cast aspersions on
- Insulting words
- N-bomb, e.g.
- Sound like you've had a few too many
- Speak indistinctly
More clues leading to the result ASPERSE
- Spread false charges against
- Spread slander
- Cast slander at
- Denigrate
- Denigrate through insinuation
- Slander
- Bad-mouth
- Sully
- Baptize
- Malign
More clues leading to the result MALIGN
- Slander
- Badmouth
- Bad-mouth
- Spread lies about
- Drag through the mud
- Asperse
- Speak evil of
- Defame.
- Traduce.
- Caluminate.
More clues leading to the result DENIGRATE
More clues leading to the result VILIFY
More clues leading to the result SLANDER
- Debase
- Falsely malign
- Defame
- Smear with mud, say
- Actionable words
- Defamation
- Defamation of a sort
- Dirt, so to speak
- Bad-mouth
- Libel's spoken equivalent
More clues leading to the result BLACKEN
More clues leading to the result DIS
- Belittle, in slang
- Put down, modern-style
- Treat without respect
- Trash
- Treat without respect, slangily
- Drive filler
- Bad-mouth, in the 'hood
- Put down, in the 'hood
- Insult at the center of this puzzle's long answers
- Bad-mouth
More clues leading to the result SPATTER
- What sloppy eaters do
- Frying mess
- Paint like Pollock?
- Frying pan hazard
- Splash droplets on
- Make a mess in the kitchen
- Spot with drops
- Stain with spots
- "CSI" evidence
- Land in droplets
More clues leading to the result TAR
- Black gunk
- Defile
- Highway-crew need
- Macadam material
- Pitch
- Pitch yielder
- Roofing material
- Seafarer
- Sticky black stuff
- __ Heel (North Carolinian)