Libel and slander: simple tips to help you remember the difference

The words LIBEL and SLANDER are commonly confused. Both are legal terms that are easy to get mixed up! 

Here are my simple tips to help you learn and remember the difference between LIBEL and SLANDER. First, you need to know that defamation is the act of saying something false and malicious about someone else.

When to use LIBEL

LIBEL can be a noun or a verb. It relates to defamation in writing. It can be used in a sentence like this: “They’ve printed it in the papers now – this is LIBEL!” To help you remember that LIBEL – or a LIBELLOUS statement – is written, think of a LIBrary (which is full of written books).

When to use SLANDER

SLANDER can be a noun or a verb. It relates to defamation in speech.  It can be used in a sentence like this: “What you said isn’t true. It’s SLANDER.” To remember that SLANDER is spoken, think of the S in SLANDER and Spoken. I hope these tips help you remember the difference between LIBEL and SLANDER in the future.

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Get more simple, memorable spelling tips in The Little Book of Confusables 1 + The Little Book of Confusables 2

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