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calunnia

slander, calumny

noun kah-LOON-nyah Rare

Origin: Latin calumnia (false accusation, trickery).

Usage Note

Calunnia refers specifically to a false accusation made to damage someone's reputation — a criminal offence under Italian law (articolo 368 del codice penale). It differs from diffamazione ('defamation'), which concerns damaging true or false statements made publicly. The verb form is calunniare; the perpetrator is a calunniatore.

Examples

"Ha sporto denuncia per calunnia."

Natural Translation

He filed a complaint for slander.

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