Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

libelous

/ˈlaɪ.bəl.əs/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.36 in modern English

Syllables
li-belous
IPA
/ˈlaɪ.bəl.əs/
10
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Defamatory, libeling, referring to something that causes harm to someone's reputation especially with malice or disregard.

American usage

adj

Meeting the legal standards for libel.

American usage

Example Sentences

Etymology

Etymology tree English libel Proto-Indo-European *h₃ed- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *h₃édosder.? Proto-Italic *-ŏ̄dsos? Old Latin -ōssus Latin -ōsus Old French -usbor. Middle English -ous English -ous English libelous From libel + -ous.

Regional Pronunciation

  • British English: /ˈlaɪ.bəl.əs/

Usage

Inflected Forms

more libelous (comparative) most libelous (superlative) libellous (alternative, UK)

Derived Forms

libelously

Synonyms

calumniatory calumnious defamatory denigrative denigrating denigratory libellous slanderous

Questions

How do you pronounce libelous?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈlaɪ.bəl.əs/.
What does libelous mean?
Defamatory, libeling, referring to something that causes harm to someone's reputation especially with malice or disregard.
Where does libelous come from?
Etymology tree English libel Proto-Indo-European *h₃ed- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *h₃édosder.? Proto-Italic *-ŏ̄dsos? Old Latin -ōssus Latin -ōsus Old French -usbor. Middle English -ous English -ous English libelous From libel + -ous.

How to pronounce libelous

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “libelous”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈlaɪ.bəl.əs/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “libelous”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “libelous” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.