denigrate

den·i·grate | \ ˈde-ni-ˌgrāt

How to pronounce denigrate (audio)

\

denigrated; denigrating

Definition of denigrate

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

Other Words from denigrate Synonyms & Antonyms Did You Know? More Example Sentences Learn More about denigrate

Keep scrolling for more

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 The object of the show is not to denigrate either party. — Dan Snierson, EW.com, "Steve Carell on creating the 'surprisingly patriotic' Netflix comedy Space Force," 28 May 2020 Not to denigrate the loss of life, but this might give us some hope from something terrible. — Jonathan Watts And Niko Kommenda, Wired, "The Pandemic Has Led to a Huge, Global Drop in Air Pollution," 28 Mar. 2020 But the president has a long history of denigrating women who stand up to him, especially those of his generation in positions of power. — BostonGlobe.com, "WASHINGTON (AP) — An ambassador, her firing and a pair of fixers.," 15 Nov. 2019 The president has typically dismissed the allegations out of hand or responded combatively, often attacking or denigrating his accusers. — Katie Glueck, New York Times, "Biden Denies Tara Reade’s Assault Allegation: ‘It Never Happened’," 1 May 2020 That makes Gates the latest individual — along with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the leading US infectious disease expert — to be ensnared in the flow of right-wing punditry that has denigrated those who appear at odds with Trump on the virus. — Marc Tracy, BostonGlobe.com, "Bill Gates, at odds with Trump on virus, becomes a right-wing target," 17 Apr. 2020 Klobuchar came back to accuse him of denigrating the experience of the three senators and the vice president. — Chris Sikich, Indianapolis Star, "Takeaways from the February Democratic debate: Buttigieg takes hits from nearly everyone," 8 Feb. 2020 Now Republicans denigrate the Department of Justice, trash the FBI, and condone the Trump administration’s refusal to honor lawful subpoenas issued by the House of Representatives. — Dp Opinion, The Denver Post, "Letters: Trump stood against Russia in the Ukraine; A fair hearing in the Senate is essential for justice (12/19/19)," 18 Dec. 2019 Trump frequently denigrated Sessions for the decision, which was followed by the firing of FBI Director James Comey and the appointment of Robert Mueller to be special counsel in charge of the inquiry. — Caitlin Yilek, Washington Examiner, "Alabama postpones runoff between Jeff Sessions and Tommy Tuberville," 18 Mar. 2020

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.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about denigrate

Listen to Our Podcast about denigrate

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Dictionary Entries near denigrate

Statistics for denigrate

Last Updated

4 Jun 2020

Cite this Entry

“Denigrate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/denigrate. Accessed 4 Jun. 2020.

Keep scrolling for more

Keep scrolling for more

WORD OF THE DAY

posture

See Definitions and Examples »

Test Your Vocabulary

May 2020 Words of the Day Quiz

Which is a synonym of exiguous?

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.