Аннотация: The article discusses such concepts as “moral damage”, “insult”, “defamation of business reputation” in the legal linguistic aspect. Based on the analysis of the semantic meanings of terms used in jurisprudence, conclusions are drawn about the fundamental differences between the legal and linguistic approaches to understanding the above definitions. The regulatory basis for the analytical material is the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, and materials of judicial practice. As the publication shows, it is necessary to conduct a more accurate and comprehensive legal linguistic study of terminology in law enforcement practice, which ultimately contributes to a more thorough legal regulation of social relations in the context of causing and compensating for moral damage.