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 case galvanized the civil rights movement, and even today, Till’s death has been invoked by protesters decrying brutality against African Americans. — Jenny Jarvie, latimes.com, "Justice Department reopens Emmett Till case. His killing in 1955 put a spotlight on racial violence," 12 July 2018 Religious and humanitarian leaders decried the policy. — Colleen Long, The Seattle Times, "Separations at the border didn’t worry some Trump officials," 2 July 2018 Religious and humanitarian leaders decried the policy. — CBS News, "Trump's "zero tolerance" policy sowed confusion from start," 1 July 2018 The situation has been debated in the public eye in the past month, with some property owners decrying the grandfather clause, and others saying the new rules, particularly the parking requirement, are too restrictive. — Steve Lord, Aurora Beacon-News, "Waiting period will stay in new Aurora property code," 27 June 2018 Three more huge hits that day—resulting a league-record day of fines—caused the NFL to show a four-minute video to every team decrying gratuitous hits. — SI.com, "Peter King’s Favorite Stories, from SI and The MMQB," 28 May 2018 And so often, the men who decry female advocates’ efforts do not support male survivors when the time comes to do so. — Hannah Giorgis, The Atlantic, "Terry Crews and the Discomfort of Masculine Anxiety," 29 June 2018 This year, many observers have ignored his near-triple-double average and decried his one-man approach. — Ben Golliver, SI.com, "The Crossover's All-NBA and All-Defensive Picks: Who Deserves to Make First Team?," 11 Apr. 2018 Many lawmakers praised the legislation, but that praise was accompanied by criticism from many Democrats, who decried the Republican majority’s unwillingness to consider anything that would restrict guns. — Anthony Man, Sun-Sentinel.com, "U.S. House easily approves bill to reduce school violence," 14 Mar. 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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