What's the difference between accuse and defame?

Accuse


Definition:

  • (n.) Accusation.
  • (v. t.) To charge with, or declare to have committed, a crime or offense
  • (v. t.) to charge with an offense, judicially or by a public process; -- with of; as, to accuse one of a high crime or misdemeanor.
  • (v. t.) To charge with a fault; to blame; to censure.
  • (v. t.) To betray; to show. [L.]

Example Sentences:

  • (1) The judge, Mr Justice John Royce, told George she was "cold" and "calculating", as further disturbing details of her relationship with the co-accused, Colin Blanchard and Angela Allen, emerged.
  • (2) Some international coverage of the outbreak was accused of misinforming western readers.
  • (3) Photograph: Guardian The research also compiled data covered by a wider definition of tax haven, including onshore jurisdictions such as the US state of Delaware – accused by the Cayman islands of playing "faster and looser" even than offshore jurisdictions – and the Republic of Ireland, which has come under sustained pressure from other EU states to reform its own low-tax, light-tough, regulatory environment.
  • (4) Faisal Abu Shahla, a senior official in Fatah, an organisation responsible for a good deal of repression of its own when it was in power, accuses Hamas of holding 700 political prisoners in Gaza as part of a broad campaign to suppress dissent.
  • (5) The charges against Harrison were filed just after two white men were accused of fatally shooting three black people in Tulsa in what prosecutors said were racially motivated attacks.
  • (6) Defence lawyers suggested this week that Anwar's accuser was a "compulsive and consummate liar" who may have been put up to it.
  • (7) Meanwhile, Hunt has been accused of backtracking on a key recommendation in the official report into Mid Staffs.
  • (8) She has been accused of being responsible for rape, sexual slavery, and prostitution itself.
  • (9) We repeat our call for them to do so at the earliest opportunity, and to share those findings so that we can take any appropriate actions.” In the BBC programme the 29-year-old Rupp, who won 10,000m silver at the London 2012 Olympics behind Farah, was accused of having taken testosterone and being a regular user of the asthma drug prednisone, which is banned in competition.
  • (10) David Cameron was accused of revealing his ill-suppressed Bullingdon Club instincts when he shouted at the Labour frontbencher Angela Eagle to "calm down, dear" as she berated him for misleading MPs at prime minister's questions.
  • (11) Certainly not ones with young children accused of non-violent crimes.
  • (12) Analysis of official registers reveals the 38 companies in the first wave of the initiative – more than two-thirds of which are based overseas – have collectively had 698 face-to-face meetings with ministers under the current government, prompting accusations of an over-cosy relationship between corporations and ministers.
  • (13) I never accuse a student of plagiarizing unless I have proof, almost always in the form of sources easily found by Googling a few choice phrases.
  • (14) And any Labour commitment on spending is fatally undermined by their deficit amnesia.” Davey widened the attack on the Tories, following a public row this week between Clegg and Theresa May over the “snooper’s charter”, by accusing his cabinet colleague Eric Pickles of coming close to abusing his powers by blocking new onshore developments against the wishes of some local councils.
  • (15) He said he was appalled by the player's accusations and plans to meet with Martin on Wednesday at an undisclosed location.
  • (16) For a union that, in less than 25 years, has had to cope with the end of the cold war, the expansion from 12 to 28 members, the struggle to create a single currency and, most recently, the eurozone crisis, such a claim risks accusations of hyperbole.
  • (17) Fred Goodwin was an accountant and no one ever accused the former chief executive of RBS of consuming mind-alterating substances – unless you count over-inhaling his own ego.
  • (18) His words earned a stinging rebuke from first lady Michelle Obama , but at a Friday rally in North Carolina he said of one accuser, Jessica Leeds: “Yeah, I’m gonna go after you.
  • (19) The Iranians have accused the Israelis and the US of designing and deploying Stuxnet, which set some of their centrifuges spinning out of control.
  • (20) Does parliamentary privilege really mean that the four accused should not face trial?

Defame


Definition:

  • (v. t.) To harm or destroy the good fame or reputation of; to disgrace; especially, to speak evil of maliciously; to dishonor by slanderous reports; to calumniate; to asperse.
  • (v. t.) To render infamous; to bring into disrepute.
  • (v. t.) To charge; to accuse.
  • (n.) Dishonor.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Abe Foxman, director of the Anti-Defamation League, a vigorous defender of Israel, called the speech “ill-advised”.
  • (2) Equally, Whittingdale pointed out that the Irish defamation act 2009 allows the courts to take account of whether a journalist has adhered to the Irish Press Council's code.
  • (3) They have denied the allegations and have filed a criminal complaint accusing the magazine of defamation.
  • (4) Her parents, Apiruj and Wanthanee Suwadee, were found guilty of violating Article 112 of Thailand’s criminal code which says anyone who “defames, insults or threatens the king, the queen, the heir-apparent or the regent” will be punished with up to 15 years in prison.
  • (5) They may be considered blasphemous by some, but banning speech based on criticism or so-called defamation of religion is incompatible with international human rights standards.
  • (6) Polonsky is hoping to sue Lebedev for libel and is seeking damages for defamation, his lawyer Andrew Stephenson has said.
  • (7) "The government has already published consultations on multiple publications on the internet and controlling costs in defamation."
  • (8) Tugendhat also stated that "in the language of defamation, the information would be capable of lowering [Terry] in the estimation of right-thinking members of society generally".
  • (9) According to the New York Times , he told its reporter Emily Steel that if he did not approve of her resulting article “I’m coming after you with everything I have,” adding: “You can take it as a threat.” The 65-year-old anchor – who earlier dismissed the Mother Jones article as “total bullshit”, “disgusting”, “defamation” and “a piece of garbage” – had promised that the archive tapes would comprehensively disprove the charges against him.
  • (10) The comedian has been fined several times for defamation, using insulting language, hate speech and racial discrimination.
  • (11) "When I complained to the police and law enforcement of Somalia, they arrested me and defamed me.
  • (12) These include Atena Farghadani, 28, an artist who was placed in solitary confinement in Iran for posting a cartoon on Facebook criticising a government bill to limit family planning services, and Gladys Lanza , who was convicted of defamation in Honduras when she spoke in defence of a woman who had accused a government official of sexual harassment.
  • (13) Ferrero: “I meant no disrespect to Mr Thohir, Inter’s directors or the people of the Philippines – with whom I have a wonderful rapport.” Legal news Croatia: Dinamo Zagreb president Zdravko Mamic fined €17,000 for defaming lawyer Ivica Crnic during a 2013 tribunal.
  • (14) "It is almost as dan­ger­ous to be an ABT mem­ber as it is to encounter one," the Anti-Defamation League study says.
  • (15) In fact, this has been all about defamation and manipulation of history, not prosecution.
  • (16) They are also likely to consider amendments that would boost fines for defamation.
  • (17) Thanks to sifting by the Defamer blog , the emails reveal the arguments began back in February, after Angelina Jolie wanted Fincher to direct her in Cleopatra, rather than take on the Jobs film.
  • (18) Foreign officials Mossack Fonseca appears to still act for Hunt’s company, despite a high-profile libel case in which the high court threw out Hunt’s defamation suit against the Sunday Times.
  • (19) In Bangladesh, defaming a religion on the internet can carry a 10-year jail sentence.
  • (20) For the sake of clarity it is worth pointing out that "the rich" Lord Lester is referring to are the rich who complain of being defamed, not the rich newspaper proprietors.