as in defamation
the act of making a person or a thing seem little or unimportant
the unfair denigration of the social sciences by some people in the natural sciences
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Recent Examples of denigration
For me, this marks an early moment in the denigration of women.
—
Eana Kim, ARTnews.com, 27 Apr. 2026
Nowhere is there the vitriol or denigration found in MAGA gatherings.
—Chicago Tribune, 1 Apr. 2026
From the start, the denigration of the Iranian monarchy was at the center of the Islamic Republic’s official ideology.
—Azadeh Moaveni, New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2026
Trump is, of course, a man whose rise to power has been fueled by his denigration of people for being animal-like.
—Daniel Engber, The Atlantic, 22 Feb. 2026
The human costs of this are the increasing rates of illnesses and the financial costs of health care, lost productivity, and the compounding problems of further environmental denigration.
—Suwanna Gauntlett Upjohn, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
Eana Kim, ARTnews.com, 27 Apr. 2026
Nowhere is there the vitriol or denigration found in MAGA gatherings.
—Chicago Tribune, 1 Apr. 2026
From the start, the denigration of the Iranian monarchy was at the center of the Islamic Republic’s official ideology.
—Azadeh Moaveni, New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2026
Trump is, of course, a man whose rise to power has been fueled by his denigration of people for being animal-like.
—Daniel Engber, The Atlantic, 22 Feb. 2026
The human costs of this are the increasing rates of illnesses and the financial costs of health care, lost productivity, and the compounding problems of further environmental denigration.
—Suwanna Gauntlett Upjohn, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for denigration
Noun
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Repeatedly, these men fail, largely because posts like Rajala’s are considered opinions protected by the First Amendment and defamation laws in states like Illinois.—
Ashley Belanger,
ArsTechnica,
18 May 2026
-
Baldoni, 42, denied her claims and filed a countersuit accusing Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, of defamation, igniting a public back-and-forth that was set to culminate in a federal trial beginning May 18.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
16 May 2026
Noun
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Building, lighting plans draw criticism from community Parker’s campus currently sprawls six acres and has a 6-to-1 student-to-teacher ratio.—
Kate Perez,
Chicago Tribune,
23 May 2026
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The closure drew criticism from the Primm family.—
Andrea Margolis,
FOXNews.com,
23 May 2026
Noun
-
Their accounts, including confrontations with far-right security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, have drawn international condemnation and diplomatic protests; Israeli prison officials dismiss the allegations as baseless as hundreds of activists are deported.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
22 May 2026
-
Whose response was not condemnation, but applause!—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 May 2026
Noun
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The contract contained a non-disparagement clause, and in law, the special thing about disparagement is that unlike defamation, the truth is not a defense against disparagement.—
Marlow Stern,
Variety,
28 Apr. 2026
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And the Times Magazine suggested the idea of discovering a similar past disparagement clause to the one that plagued HBO might dissuade any network from tackling a future Jackson project.—
Steve Knopper,
Rolling Stone,
22 Apr. 2026
Noun
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International watchdogs warn of democratic backsliding under Vucic, citing police abuses and pressure on critics, while Serbia’s bid for European Union membership faces potential funding cuts over eroding rule of law.—
Jovana Gec,
Los Angeles Times,
24 May 2026
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The change followed a report from a commission that discussed state institutions' history of abuse and neglect, including patient sterilizations at a state hospital in Monson.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
24 May 2026
Noun
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Apolline may embrace the social media aspects of her career but George’s belittlement rankles her.—
Peter Rainer,
Christian Science Monitor,
14 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The property investor, which tends to be a high-net-worth individual or family office, gets a high-rent tenant plus major depreciation deductions, while the operator recycles capital into expansion.—
Diana Olick,
CNBC,
19 May 2026
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The market currently anticipates that Cloud revenue growth will exceed the impending depreciation surge, but any postponement in monetizing enterprise AI could reverse this scenario and impact the stock multiple negatively.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2026
Noun
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Commercials that show more diversity in family groups and romantic partners, including same-sex couples and interracial families, may over time decrease the ridicule and discrimination experienced by those who are living in nontraditional family settings.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
7 May 2026
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Many parents are afraid to go on the record against a school or coach for fear of retribution against their son or daughter, so for a teenager to go out on the limb and put himself up to possible ridicule was both stunning and courageous.—
Eric Sondheimer,
Los Angeles Times,
6 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Denigration.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/denigration. Accessed 25 May. 2026.
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