defamatory
/dɪˈfæməˌtɔɹi/adjective
defamatory is spelled D-E-F-A-M-A-T-O-R-Y: 10 letters and 5 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,504th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, defamatory means “Damaging to someone's reputation, especially if untrue” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in defamatory?
| Letters | 10: D-E-F-A-M-A-T-O-R-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 34,504th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is defamatory?
Defamatory appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,504th 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 defamatory?
- UK /dɪˈfæmətɹi/
- US /dɪˈfæməˌtɔɹi/
Defamatory has 5 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-defamatory.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with defamatory?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as defamatory from its last stressed vowel (/æmətɔɹi/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of defamatory
- more defamatory comparative
- most defamatory superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does defamatory mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Damaging to someone's reputation, especially if untrue.
defamatory statement
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Defamatory in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense damaging to someone’s reputation:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | diffamatoire, diffamant |
| German | verleumderisch |
| Portuguese | difamatório, difamador |
| Spanish | difamatorio, difamador |
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 defamatory come from?
From Middle French diffamatoire (altered after the prefix de-), from Medieval Latin diffāmātōrius.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).