Definition of DECRY

Choose the Right Synonym for decry

decry, depreciate, disparage, belittle mean to express a low opinion of. decry implies open condemnation with intent to discredit. decried their defeatist attitude depreciate implies a representing as being of less value than commonly believed. critics depreciate his plays for being unabashedly sentimental disparage implies depreciation by indirect means such as slighting or invidious comparison. disparaged polo as a game for the rich belittle usually suggests a contemptuous or envious attitude. belittled the achievements of others

Examples of decry in a Sentence

In her article, she decries the pollution of the environment by manufacturers. Violence on television is generally decried as harmful to children.

Recent Examples on the Web

The mayor, who has held plenty of high-profile news conferences in City Hall to decry President Trump’s zero tolerance on immigration, was nowhere to be found as police officers used bikes to push down beach umbrellas and other encampment equipment. — Chris Brennan, Philly.com, "Did Philly police just bike-doze Mayor Kenney's relationship with progressives?," 5 July 2018 Court-packing was unpopular with the public when proposed by Roosevelt, and there’s a reason that many constitutional scholars and political scientists continue to decry it to this day. — Dylan Matthews, Vox, "Court-packing, Democrats’ nuclear option for the Supreme Court, explained," 2 July 2018 In a petition reported by Buzzfeed, over 650 Salesforce (crm, -1.34%) employees decried work that the firm is carrying out for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). — David Meyer, Fortune, "Salesforce Employees Petition CEO Marc Benioff Over Contracts With Border Authorities," 26 June 2018 State and federal lawmakers from the El Paso area decried that proposal earlier this week, particularly raising concerns about housing children on military bases. — Claire Parker, star-telegram, "Trump administration picks site for tent city near El Paso to house immigrant children," 15 June 2018 Conservatives were quick to decry a double standard: 1. — Jeet Heer, The New Republic, "Samantha Bee picked the worst moment to insult Ivanka Trump.," 1 June 2018 So after the shooting on May 11, anti-reform activists used this moment to decry these comparatively restrictive laws as ineffective, laying out their arguments as to why they shouldn't be applied nationwide. — Lincoln Anthony Blades, Teen Vogue, "California's Gun Laws Are Progress, Not Perfection," 15 May 2018 Soon, and especially when Nestlé’s Poland Spring in Maine became a market force, environmentalists began to decry the privatization of a natural resource. — Bob Morris, Town & Country, "A Users Guide to Bottled Water," 3 May 2018 But in March 2016, when Gossage criticized Jose Bautista, then with the Toronto Blue Jays, and Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets for their exuberant bat flips and decried how analytics nerds were ruining the game, Cashman summoned him. — New York Times, "An Exiled Old-Timer, Goose Gossage Still Won’t Back Down," 15 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'decry.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for decry

borrowed from French décrier "to discredit, depreciate," going back to Middle French descrier (15th century), from des- de- + crier "to cry entry 1"

Note: A supposed 13th-century French usage of descrier in the sense "to announce (the depreciation or suppression of a currency)," mentioned without citation in the Französisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, has never been found and should probably be disregarded. See also note at descry entry 1.

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