as in insulting
intended to make a person or thing seem of little importance or value
fans made a steady stream of derogatory remarks about the players on the visiting team
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Recent Examples of derogatory
If this is the overall vibe of Friends Keep Secrets, then the show — the first acquisition for #inspo podcaster Jay Shetty’s production company — is a must-watch in the most derogatory sense of the word.
—
Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 3 Mar. 2026
The law requires the removal and replacement of derogatory or offensive names for geographic features and roads.
—Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 1 Mar. 2026
Davidson has Tourette's with Coprolalia, which involves involuntary outbursts of obscene words or socially inappropriate and derogatory remarks, according to the Tourette Association of America.
—Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 1 Mar. 2026
Clairemont High School’s new mascot will be the Captains, after a name change process prompted by a state law addressing names and mascots derogatory to Native Americans.
—Jemma Stephenson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for derogatory
Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 3 Mar. 2026
The law requires the removal and replacement of derogatory or offensive names for geographic features and roads.
—Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 1 Mar. 2026
Davidson has Tourette's with Coprolalia, which involves involuntary outbursts of obscene words or socially inappropriate and derogatory remarks, according to the Tourette Association of America.
—Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 1 Mar. 2026
Clairemont High School’s new mascot will be the Captains, after a name change process prompted by a state law addressing names and mascots derogatory to Native Americans.
—Jemma Stephenson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for derogatory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for derogatory
Adjective
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For filmmakers who view their individual work as the center of gravity, this can sit somewhere between confusing and insulting.—
Dana Harris-Bridson,
IndieWire,
15 Apr. 2026
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Survivors rejected the offer, calling it insulting.—
JT Moodee Lockman,
CBS News,
7 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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British writers’ disdainful accounts of the Rathayatra led, metonymically, to a pejorative sense of a juggernaut as a massive crushing vehicle, which was later extrapolated to its present meaning in English usage.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
31 Mar. 2026
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But even scholars often employ the term as a pejorative, used to describe authoritarian government.—
David A. Graham,
The Atlantic,
26 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Her pictures, which start innocently enough from the puppy-dog idea, get increasingly demeaning.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
20 Apr. 2026
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Leadership was abusive, inappropriate and demeaning, employees told The Denver Post.—
Sam Tabachnik,
Denver Post,
20 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The lawsuit claims 10 violations of state and federal law, including retaliation, unlawful arrest, unlawful seizure, malicious prosecution and conspiracy and seeks an unspecified amount of money for damages.—
Katie Langford,
Denver Post,
16 Apr. 2026
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This, proponents said, would flag cases where parents might be removing children from school for malicious reasons while sparing those who have done nothing wrong.—
Theo Peck-Suzuki,
Hartford Courant,
15 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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While Trump’s talk of a possible NATO pullout dates back years, the comments to The Telegraph newspaper in the U.K., published Wednesday, were among the clearest and most disparaging yet — suggesting that the fracture has deepened perhaps to a point of no return.—
Jill Lawless,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Apr. 2026
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The irony is that Trump has been more disparaging and dismissive of the military than any other president.—
Joe Garofoli,
San Francisco Chronicle,
17 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Neither party admitted to liability and each agreed to refrain from making disparaging, negative or uncomplimentary statements about the other, the document said.—
Lorraine Mirabella,
Baltimore Sun,
29 July 2022
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Though the pollen gunk will pass, he's concerned by a contingent of Twitter trolls who've shared uncomplimentary reviews of his recent North American tour.—
Jordan Runtagh,
PEOPLE.com,
21 Jan. 2022
Adjective
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Cotton also gets softer with every wash instead of pilling or degrading — a durability advantage synthetic blends can’t match.—
Allison Palmer,
Sacbee.com,
21 Apr. 2026
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Amnesty International has said that the use of the death penalty under the new measure could violate the right to life and the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, as enshrined in international law.—
Julia Frankel,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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This subsided with unusual speed, however, as cricket fans took instead to sharing the self-deprecatory jokes coming over the border.—
The Economist,
The Economist,
22 June 2019
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Philipps has acquired her 1-million-and-growing Instagram followers through her self-deprecatory humor, raw honesty and vulnerability.—
Sonja Haller,
USA TODAY,
11 July 2018
Cite this Entry
“Derogatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/derogatory. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.
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