Main Entry: dep·re·cate

Pronunciation: \ˈde-pri-ˌkāt\

Function: transitive verb

Inflected Form(s): dep·re·cat·ed; dep·re·cat·ing

Etymology: Latin deprecatus, past participle of deprecari to avert by prayer, from de- + precari to pray — more at pray

Date: 1628

1 a archaic : to pray against (as an evil) b : to seek to avert <deprecate the wrath…of the Roman people — Tobias Smollett>
2 : to express disapproval of
3 a : play down : make little of <speaks five languages…but deprecates this facility — Time> b : belittle, disparage <the most reluctantly admired and least easily deprecated of…novelists — New Yorker>

— dep·re·cat·ing·ly \-ˌkā-tiŋ-lē\ adverb

— dep·re·ca·tion \ˌde-pri-ˈkā-shən\ noun