denigrate

verb

den·i·grate ˈde-ni-ˌgrāt

denigrated; denigrating

Synonyms of denigrate next

transitive verb

: to attack the reputation of : defame

denigrate one's opponents

: to deny the importance or validity of : belittle

denigrate their achievements

denigration

ˌde-ni-ˈgrā-shən

noun

denigrative

ˈde-ni-ˌgrā-tiv

adjective

denigrator

ˈde-ni-ˌgrā-tər

noun

denigratory

ˈde-ni-grə-ˌtȯr-ē

adjective

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.

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 on the Web Such semantics denigrate the most vulnerable players in this California business, relegating them to the shadows, including a father and son who hoped to send money home and instead lost their lives. —

Paige St. John, Los Angeles Times, 13 Nov. 2023 Antisemitism charges swirl after Putin denigrates Zelensky’s Jewish roots Zelensky is Jewish, and has relatives who were killed by the Nazis. —

Sammy Westfall, Washington Post, 26 Sep. 2023 Using this infrastructure, the party was able to send messages touting the BJP’s accomplishments and denigrating its opponent, the Indian National Congress party, directly into the pockets of hundreds of millions of people. —

Gerry Shih, Washington Post, 27 Sep. 2023 These changes laid the groundwork for our current era, in which the private sector and the market are celebrated while the public and the state are denigrated. —

Sam Needleman, The New York Review of Books, 7 Oct. 2023 Russia, according to American officials, is constantly running information operations aimed at denigrating NATO and U.S. policies and is likely to ramp up efforts in the months to come. —

Julian E. Barnes, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2023 In a movie with a character played by a human actor of course, the actor has the ability to simply refuse to utter any lines that denigrate their commercial interests or to negotiate with the various parties involved if such a situation were to arise. —

Byalexandra Sternlicht, Fortune, 4 Oct. 2023 That’s not to denigrate the content itself, which is made by people as committed to their work as their American cousins and as capable of greatness (or, for that matter, ordinariness). —

Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2023 In 2020, Russia sought to spread information denigrating Joseph R. Biden Jr. —

Julian E. Barnes, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'denigrate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.