All 15 Uses of
slander
in
Much Ado About Nothing
- Why, he is the prince's jester: a very dull fool; only his gift is in devising impossible slanders: none but libertines delight in him; and the commendation is not in his wit, but in his villany; for he both pleases men and angers them, and then they laugh at him and beat him.†
Scene 2.1
- O! good my lord, tax not so bad a voice To slander music any more than once.†
Scene 2.3
- And, truly, I'll devise some honest slanders To stain my cousin with.†
Scene 3.1
- Two of them did, the prince and Claudio; but the devil my master, knew she was Margaret; and partly by his oaths, which first possessed them, partly by the dark night, which did deceive them, but chiefly by my villany, which did confirm any slander that Don John had made, away went Claudio enraged; swore he would meet her, as he was appointed, next morning at the temple, and there, before the whole congregation, shame her with what he saw o'er night, and send her home again without a…†
Scene 3.3
- Marry, this well carried shall on her behalf Change slander to remorse; that is some good.†
Scene 4.1
- Is he not approved in the height a villain, that hath slandered, scorned, dishonoured my kinswoman?†
Scene 4.1
- What! bear her in hand until they come to take hands, and then, with public accusation, uncovered slander, unmitigated rancour,—O God, that I were a man!†
Scene 4.1
- she is wronged, she is slandered, she is undone.
Scene 4.1 *slandered = things falsely said that damaged the reputation of another
- I say thou hast belied mine innocent child: Thy slander hath gone through and through her heart, And she lied buried with her ancestors; O! in a tomb where never scandal slept, Save this of hers, fram'd by thy villany!†
Scene 5.1
- God knows I lov'd my niece; And she is dead, slander'd to death by villains, That dare as well answer a man indeed As I dare take a serpent by the tongue.†
Scene 5.1
- I know them, yea, And what they weigh, even to the utmost scruple, Scambling, out-facing, fashion-monging boys, That lie and cog and flout, deprave and slander, Go antickly, show outward hideousness, And speak off half a dozen dangerous words, How they might hurt their enemies, if they durst; And this is all!†
Scene 5.1
- Marry, sir, they have committed false report; moreover, they have spoken untruths; secondarily, they are slanders; sixth and lastly, they have belied a lady; thirdly, they have verified unjust things; and to conclude, they are lying knaves.†
Scene 5.1
- I have deceived even your very eyes: what your wisdoms could not discover, these shallow fools have brought to light; who, in the night overheard me confessing to this man how Don John your brother incensed me to slander the Lady Hero; how you were brought into the orchard and saw me court Margaret in Hero's garments; how you disgraced her, when you should marry her.†
Scene 5.1
- ] Done to death by slanderous tongues Was the Hero that here lies: Death, in guerdon of her wrongs, Gives her fame which never dies.†
Scene 5.3
- She died, my lord, but whiles her slander liv'd.†
Scene 5.4
Definition:
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(slander) lie to damage the reputation of another; or the lies toldeditor's notes: The legal distinction between libel and slander is that libel is an oral offense while slander is written or published.