the act of damaging somebody’s reputation by saying or writing bad or false things about them 诬蔑;诽谤;中伤 The company sued for defamation. 这家公司因受到诽谤而提起诉讼。 He brought a legal action against the magazine for defamation of character. 他起诉该杂志社诋毁他的人格。 Such a defamation might cause injury to the business goodwill of the corporation. 这种诽谤可能会损害公司的商业信誉。