Barron's 1100 Words You Need to Know » Week 44 - Day 2

Word List
  • libel [lī´ bəl]
    degradation by writing or publishing
    → “Issues such as freedom of speech and libel are going to have to be rethought as the Internet makes everyone a potential publisher in cyberspace.” Thomas L. Friedman, “Boston E-Party,” New York Times, 1/1/00
  • defamatory [di fam´ ə tôr ē]
    damaging character by false reports
    → “His defamatory remarks about minorities are transmitted on the Internet.” TIME, 8/30/99
  • plaintiff [plān´ tif]
    the complaining party, in law
    → “When the attorney for the palsied plaintiff finished, there wasn’t a dry eye in the courtroom.” Rose Axelsohn, “The Defense Rests” [adapted]
  • canard [kə närd´]
    a made-up sensational story
    → “It’s a canard to say I want to be a millionaire: I just want to live like one.” Toots Shor, quoted in Life Magazine, 10/12/69
  • deprecate [dep´ rə kāt]
    express disapproval
    → “Why do they always deprecate the efforts of a woman press secretary, but rarely a man doing the same job?” New York, 9/25/95

One of the latent* dangers indigenous* to our constitutional guarantee of freedom of the press has to do with the protection of the individual against the detriment* that might come from news reports involving him. There are libel laws that protect against false charges. If an individual believes his character or livelihood have been damaged by a defamatory article, he can sue. As the plaintiff he must refute* the story and show how the defendant caused him harm by printing a canard. The defendant attempts to substantiate* the truth of the article. The printing of news may besmirch* an individual’s character, but there is no way to alleviate* this problem without changes in the Constitution. This would be tantamount* to destroying the efficacy* of our coveted* right to learn the truth from the press. We all deprecate a situation in which someone suffers because of exposure in the newspapers. Only when the harm is caused by someone with a desire to malign* under the guise* of printing the news can the individual expect to win compensation* through the courts.

Sample Sentences Use the new words in these sentences.

  1. The mayor vehemently* denied there was any antipathy* between the governor and himself and blamed this __________ on their political opponents.
  2. I resent your __________ remark that depicts* me as a culprit.*
  3. The egregious* calumny* of the defendant worked to the advantage of the __________.
  4. Publishers of newspapers and magazines augment* their staff with lawyers to represent them when they are sued for __________.
  5. The cynic* will __________ the motives of anyone who tries to ameliorate* the iniquities* in our society.

Definitions Study these carefully for the fine differences in meaning.

  1. a. express disapproval
  2. b. the complaining party, in law
  3. c. degradation by writing or publishing
  4. d. damaging character by false reports
  5. e. a made-up sensational story
  1. libel (n.) __________
  2. defamatory __________
  3. plaintiff __________
  4. canard __________
  5. deprecate __________

Answer Key
a pretty kettle of fish—a messy situation, a problem
He knew that when he attacked the sacred cow* he would be in a pretty kettle of fish.
(Do you remember this idiom? It was used earlier in the book and should be familiar.)

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