Libel, the act of making a false, damaging statement about someone, has several synonyms. The first one that comes to mind is defamation, which encompasses all types of false statements that harm a person's reputation. Slander, on the other hand, refers to spoken false statements that damage a person's reputation. Calumny is a less commonly used synonym for libel that specifically refers to malicious statements intended to harm someone's reputation. Vilification is another synonym for libel that describes a public attack on a person's character or reputation. Finally, character assassination is a synonym for libel that specifically refers to a vicious and malicious attack on someone's reputation.