Hearsay
Part of speech: noun
Definition: information that was heard by one person about another evidence based on the reports of others rather than on personal knowledge; normally inadmissible because not made under oath evidence: an out-of-court statement offered in court for the truth of the matter asserted; normally inadmissible because not subject to cross-examination, unless the hearsay statement falls under one of the many exceptions
Example sentence: People who don't know me have opinions about me. That's the part that's very hurtful. Because how do you form an opinion about somebody if you've never met them or spent any time with them? So it's all based upon hearsay or things that they've read.
Rumor
Part of speech: noun
Definition: A statement or claim of questionable accuracy, from no known reliable source, usually spread by word of mouth.Information or misinformation of the kind contained in such claims.
Part of speech: verb
Definition: To tell a rumor about; to gossip.
Example sentence: I'm frustrated by something, it's my fault for exposing myself to it in the first place. The rumor mill always seemed like a grass fire to me. Why walk out in the middle of the field, it's just going to flame out and go away just like everything else does?