-
Trending Now:
More Trending:
- scaramouch non sequitur admiral's mast calumny kakistocracy
- ALL
Definition of disparage
disparaged
;disparaging
transitive verb
1 : to lower in rank or reputation : degrade
2 : to depreciate (see depreciate 1) by indirect means (such as invidious comparison) : speak slightingly about religious beliefs disparaged as superstition
disparager
noundisparaging
adjectivePeople Are Reading
disparage was our Word of the Day on 09/27/2013. Hear the podcast!
Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP
Examples of disparage in a Sentence
Voters don't like political advertisements in which opponents disparage one another.
It's a mistake to disparage their achievements.
The article disparaged polo as a game for the wealthy.
Recent Examples of disparage from the Web
-
Like every other Republican running for the White House last year, Donald Trump routinely disparaged President Barack Obama’s signature accomplishment, the Affordable Care Act, which extended health insurance to 20 million Americans.
-
The answers range from laudatory to disparaging, depending on which experts are asked.
-
The incident comes less than a month after Islamic leaders criticized an anti-Muslim billboard disparaging the Prophet Muhammad that is near the southbound lanes of I-465 on the east side.
-
Senators have widely disparaged the House bill, and Senate moderates have talked a good game about protecting the sick and vulnerable.
-
The ruling means offensive trademarks can no longer be denied, even for names that intend to disparage individuals or groups of people, said Megan Carpenter, dean at the University of New Hampshire School of Law and an expert on trademark law.
-
This was also a period in which some of the most dramatic ideas that had been disparaged as conspiracy theories turned out to be true.
-
Sending up a trial balloon about firing Mueller and having his Trumpets disparage Mueller, just make Trump and company look even more desperate and guilty.
-
Trump followed on Monday with another tweet disparaging the London mayor.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'disparage'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
In Middle English, to disparage someone meant causing that person to marry someone of inferior rank. Disparage derives from the Anglo-French word desparager, meaning "to marry below one's class." Desparager, in turn, combines the negative prefix des- with parage ("equality" or "lineage"), which itself comes from per, meaning "peer." The original "marriage" sense of disparage is now obsolete, but a closely-related sense ("to lower in rank or reputation") survives in modern English. By the 16th century, English speakers (including Shakespeare) were also using disparage to mean simply "to belittle."
Origin and Etymology of disparage
Middle English, to degrade by marriage below one's class, disparage, from Anglo-French desparager to marry below one's class, from des- dis- + parage equality, lineage, from per peer
Synonym Discussion of disparage
DISPARAGE Defined for English Language Learners
disparage
playDefinition of disparage for English Language Learners
-
: to describe (someone or something) as unimportant, weak, bad, etc.
DISPARAGE Defined for Kids
Learn More about disparage
-
See words that rhyme with disparage Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for disparage Spanish Central: Translation of disparage Nglish: Translation of disparage for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of disparage for Arabic speakers
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up disparage? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Writing? Check your grammar now!