What are words that by their nature inflict injury or incite acts of violence?

• A. Fighting Words
• B. Libel
• C. Obscenity
• D. Commercial Speech

Answer: (A)

Fighting words are unprotected speech because they are words that by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace. The Supreme Court defined fighting words as those aimed at a specific person that would provoke a direct, immediate violent response, making ordinary discussion effectively impossible. This distinguishes them from other unprotected or limited categories of speech. Libel involves false statements harming someone’s reputation; obscenity concerns sexually explicit material; commercial speech covers advertising and is subject to different regulatory rules. So, the description matches fighting words, since it captures the immediate potential for violence that the First Amendment does not protect.