denigrate

play

verb den·i·grate \ˈde-ni-ˌgrāt\

Definition of denigrate

denigrated

;

denigrating

transitive verb
1 : to attack the reputation of : defame denigrate one's opponents
2 : to deny the importance or validity of : belittle denigrate their achievements

denigration

play \ˌde-ni-ˈgrā-shən\ noun

denigrative

play \ˈde-ni-ˌgrā-tiv\ adjective

denigrator

play \-ˌgrā-tər\ noun

denigratory

play \ˈde-ni-grə-ˌtȯr-ē\ adjective

See denigrate defined for English-language learners

denigrate was our Word of the Day on 10/22/2007. Hear the podcast!

Examples of denigrate in a Sentence

Her story denigrates him as a person and as a teacher.
No one is trying to denigrate the importance of a good education. We all know that it is crucial for success.
denigrating the talents and achievements of women

Recent Examples of denigrate from the Web

Hamzeh later told others about how Mike had begun constantly denigrating Masons and first floated the idea of attacking the Milwaukee center.

— bruce vielmetti, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Man charged in mass shooting plot at Milwaukee Masonic center seeks release", 3 July 2017
Many of HanA--holesolo's posts denigrate black people.

— mahita gajanan, Time, "The Reddit User Who Apparently Made Trump's CNN Video Has a History of Racist Posts", 3 July 2017
Officials there say rhetoric denigrating Hispanics, and especially those of Mexican descent, caused the decrease.

— max londberg, kansascity.com, "Deportation fears drive down food assistance requests, KCK’s El Centro officials say", 22 June 2017
These people, a separate gender with a tradition that stretches back hundreds of years, maintain a unique position in South Asia, alternately tolerated, revered and denigrated.

— ron charles, The Denver Post, "From Arundhati Roy, “The Ministry of Utmost Happiness” is a remarkable creation", 31 May 2017
Hate speech — bigoted or denigrating words directed at groups — is constitutionally protected.

— danny westneat, The Seattle Times, "Oregon ACLU puts principle over politics — and gets booed", 30 May 2017
The establishment clause of the First Amendment prohibits the government from denigrating a particular religion.

— ann e. marimow, Washington Post, "Federal appeals court largely maintains freeze of Trump’s travel ban", 25 May 2017
The Islam speech is a risky move for a president who has long denigrated the faith.

— david a. graham, The Atlantic, "Jared Kushner's Make-or-Break Week", 19 May 2017
If that is the case, then don’t denigrate or too closely measure those skills.

— neil senturia, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Business partners: You need to plan for that messy breakup that might never happen", 15 May 2017

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

Did You Know?

If you "denigrate" someone, you attempt to blacken their reputation. It makes sense, therefore, that "denigrate" can be traced back to the Latin verb denigrare, meaning "to blacken." When "denigrate" was first used in English in the 16th century, it meant to cast aspersions on someone's character or reputation. Eventually, it developed a second sense of "to make black" ("factory smoke denigrated the sky"), but this sense is somewhat rare in modern usage. Nowadays, of course, "denigrate" can also refer to belittling the worth or importance of someone or something.