What's the difference between aspersion and defamation?

Aspersion


Definition:

  • (n.) A sprinkling, as with water or dust, in a literal sense.
  • (n.) The spreading of calumniations reports or charges which tarnish reputation, like the bespattering of a body with foul water; calumny.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) He could face a charge if it is viewed that he is casting aspersions about match officials' fairness.
  • (2) Until I answer that question satisfactorily, I will not cast aspersions on others."
  • (3) And anything casting aspersions on China's rulers, history, military, human rights record – or any other aspect of the country – is out of the question .
  • (4) Governor Rick Perry said in a statement: This end run around the supreme court undermines the will of the people of Texas, and casts unfair aspersions on our state's common-sense efforts to preserve the integrity of our elections process.
  • (5) For aspersions to be cast about her alleged financial mismanagement and bullying shows a lack of respect to a woman who has committed almost 20 years to developing Kids Company.
  • (6) People are always going to cast aspersions on people regardless of their activities if they’re in a place under a government that’s unpopular.
  • (7) What do you have in common with all these very rich people?” Cameron replied: “The aspersion you are trying to cast is completely ridiculous.” He conceded that he had not asked Green about possible tax avoidance in HSBC’s Swiss branch at the time of his appointment.
  • (8) Duncan said she was not casting aspersions on the standard of the designs by Heatherwick.
  • (9) Her dogged pursuit of the then tax commissioner, Trevor Boucher, during a Senate committee, including vague aspersions on his new role as ambassador to the OECD, led to his resignation in 1993.
  • (10) "A contemptuous aspersion against a senior military officer"!
  • (11) I know some people (men) will feel obliged to cast aspersions on my looks – believe me, I've heard it all before – but I won't apologise for the truth.
  • (12) But he wasn't scraping the bottom of the anecdotal barrel for Grandma Dunham's subtle aspersions, he was actually making a representative claim: much as Reverend Wright is an appropriate spokesman for a certain strain of black racism, Madelyn Dunham is the face for that of most whites.
  • (13) You could practically hear Bashir crisply and obediently saluting as he accused Hardin of the crime of disrespect to a general; here is just some of what he shouted, literally, each time Hardin tried to move on: "I'm sorry, I cannot allow you to cast such a contemptuous aspersion against a senior military officer by demeaning his service to this country.
  • (14) It is wasteful to cast aspersions on Jessie J's desires and quantify her sexuality into a sort of swingometer.
  • (15) Setting aside the aspersions this casts on one of the most challenging jobs in our society, a Coalition government of all governments knows that money matters, especially in education.
  • (16) Beijing’s aspersions about sinister western forces aside, no one group is directing this occupation.
  • (17) Anyway, having cast aspersions over a tragic death, doubted a coroner and insulted a grieving mother, Moir's piece builds to its climax: "Another real sadness about Gately's death is that it strikes another blow to the happy-ever-after myth of civil partnerships.
  • (18) Claiming to have renewed his faith in Islam, he said he did not agree with any character in The Satanic Verses who "casts aspersions... upon the authenticity of the holy Qur'an, or who rejects the divinity of Allah".
  • (19) are presumably confident enough to survive this mild aspersion without resort to racial violence.
  • (20) In its statement to the media after the allegations were published, the Cain campaign said Cain was being "targeted by liberals simply because they disagree with his politics": Dredging up thinly sourced allegations stemming from Mr Cain's tenure as the chief executive officer at the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s, political trade press are now casting aspersions on his character and spreading rumours that never stood up to the facts.

Defamation


Definition:

  • (n.) Act of injuring another's reputation by any slanderous communication, written or oral; the wrong of maliciously injuring the good name of another; slander; detraction; calumny; aspersion.

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.