defamation
def·am·ation/ˌdɛfəˈmeɪʃən/noun
defamation is spelled D-E-F-A-M-A-T-I-O-N: 10 letters and 3 syllables (def·am·ation). It appears 2.4 times per million words in written English, the 17,587th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, defamation means “The act of injuring another person's reputation by any slanderous communication, written or oral; the wrong of maliciously injuring the good name of…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of defamation is defamations.
How many letters and syllables are in defamation?
| Letters | 10: D-E-F-A-M-A-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: def·am·ation |
| In writing | 2.4 times per million words; the 17,587th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is defamation?
Defamation appears 2.4 times per million words in written English, the 17,587th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce defamation?
- /ˌdɛfəˈmeɪʃən/
Defamation has 3 syllables, split def·am·ation in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-defamation.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of defamation
- defamations plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does defamation mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The act of injuring another person's reputation by any slanderous communication, written or oral; the wrong of maliciously injuring the good name of another.
She sued his ex-boyfriend for defamation and is seeking $14,000.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Defamation in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense act of injuring another's reputation by any slanderous communication:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | diffamation |
| German | Verleumdung, Diffamierung, Schmähung |
| Portuguese | difamação |
| Spanish | difamación |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does defamation come from?
From Old French diffamacion (French diffamation), from Latin diffāmātiō. By surface analysis, defame + -ation.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).