Slander vs. Gossip — What's the Difference?

Malicious, false accusations meant to harm.

Sharing rumors or secrets about others.

False public assertions that can damage one’s social standing.

Informal, often juicy information about personal lives.

Spoken false statements damaging to a person’s reputation.

Exchange of personal, often sensational, news.

Defamatory falsehoods spoken in public.

Circulating stories, regardless of truth, about someone.

Harmful spoken misinformation.

Engaging in conversations about personal or trivial details of others’ lives.

The action or crime of making a false spoken statement damaging to a person's reputation

Gossip is idle talk or rumour, especially about the personal or private affairs of others; the act is also known as dishing or tattling.Gossip is a topic of research in evolutionary psychology, which has found gossip to be an important means for people to monitor cooperative reputations and so maintain widespread indirect reciprocity. Indirect reciprocity is a social interaction in which one actor helps another and is then benefited by a third party.

Make false and damaging statements about (someone)

Rumor or talk of a personal, sensational, or intimate nature.

(Law) Oral communication of false and malicious statements that damage the reputation of another.

A person who habitually spreads intimate or private rumors or facts.

A false and malicious statement or report about someone.

Trivial, chatty talk or writing.

To utter a slander about.

A close friend or companion.

To utter or spread slander.

Chiefly British A godparent.

A false or unsupported, malicious statement (spoken, not written), especially one which is injurious to a person's reputation; the making of such a statement.

To engage in or spread gossip

(Internet) A collection of humorous videos intended to poke fun at a certain group of people, such as a community or nation

(countable) Someone who likes to talk about other people's private or personal business.

To utter a slanderous statement about; baselessly speak ill of.

(uncountable) Idle talk about someone’s private or personal matters, especially someone not present.

(Internet) To poke fun at a certain group of people

(uncountable) Idle conversation in general.

A false tale or report maliciously uttered, tending to injure the reputation of another; the malicious utterance of defamatory reports; the dissemination of malicious tales or suggestions to the injury of another.

(uncountable) A genre in contemporary media, usually focused on the personal affairs of celebrities.

Disgrace; reproach; dishonor; opprobrium.

A sponsor; a godfather or godmother; the godparent of a child.

Formerly, defamation generally, whether oral or written; in modern usage, defamation by words spoken; utterance of false, malicious, and defamatory words, tending to the damage and derogation of another; calumny. See the Note under Defamation.

(obsolete) A familiar acquaintance.

To defame; to injure by maliciously uttering a false report; to tarnish or impair the reputation of by false tales maliciously told or propagated; to calumniate.

(obsolete) Title used with the name of one's child's godparent or of a friend.

To bring discredit or shame upon by one's acts.

(intransitive) To talk about someone else's private or personal business, especially in a manner that spreads the information.

Words falsely spoken that damage the reputation of another

(intransitive) To talk idly.

An abusive attack on a person's character or good name

(obsolete) To stand godfather to; to provide godparents for.

Charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone;

(obsolete) To enjoy oneself during festivities, to make merry.

A sponsor; a godfather or a godmother.

A friend or comrade; a companion; a familiar and customary acquaintance.

One who runs house to house, tattling and telling news; an idle tattler.

The tattle of a gossip; groundless rumor.

To stand sponsor to.

To make merry.

To prate; to chat; to talk much.

To run about and tattle; to tell idle tales.

Light informal conversation for social occasions

A report (often malicious) about the behavior of other people;

A person given to gossiping and divulging personal information about others

Wag one's tongue; speak about others and reveal secrets or intimacies;

Talk socially without exchanging too much information;

Motives can include entertainment, social bonding, or curiosity.

Yes, if gossip includes false statements that harm someone’s reputation, it can qualify as slander.

Yes, slander refers specifically to spoken defamatory statements.

Gossip can involve both true and false information and is not necessarily intended to harm.

Both are generally viewed negatively, but slander is taken more seriously due to its potential legal implications.

Slander can lead to defamation lawsuits if the false statements damage someone's reputation.

Generally, gossip is not actionable unless it constitutes slander or defamation.

Promoting a positive culture and addressing issues directly can help mitigate gossip.

Slander is intended to damage reputation, while gossip may not intentionally cause harm.

Defenses include proving the truth of the statement or that it was a private opinion.