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detractive

adjective

Definition of detractivenext
as in slighting
intended to make a person or thing seem of little importance or value used the detractive epithet "McJob" to describe what his feckless son-in-law did for work

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for detractive
  1. insulting
  2. contemptuous
  3. critical
  4. malicious
  5. disparaging
  6. disdainful
  7. degrading
  8. pejorative
Adjective
  • Some job seekers say AI interviews can feel impersonal, stilted, and downright insulting.
    — Sarah Jackson Juhohn Lee, CNBC, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Even more insulting was the cold, transactional nature of the intrusion.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of insulting
Adjective
  • Below the surface, there is a lot of contemptuous finger-pointing about where the anti-AI energy now coursing through the political-media landscape is coming from.
    — David Weigel, semafor.com, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Relative to the contemptuous silence of the Mike Ashley regime, there is no comparison — but even when compared to previous post-takeover administrations, Newcastle are being more communicative.
    — Chris Waugh, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of contemptuous
Adjective
  • America is at a critical crossroads for the type of future in store beyond issues of affordability, groceries and gas prices due to global conflicts.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Numerous books written by women who fled the FLDS community provide autobiographical and critical accounts of the group.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of critical
Adjective
  • The technique has similarities to web skimming, where malicious code captures payment information as a shopper types it into an online checkout page.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 18 Sep. 2026
  • This malicious torrent leads to the download of the malware loader.
    — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of malicious
Adjective
  • Felix points to Trump’s disparaging and false comments against Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, which put a target on the back of many Haitian immigrants.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 29 Apr. 2026
  • 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
Definition of disparaging
Adjective
  • As Cusk has become more disdainful of fiction and more insistent on the documentary function of art, her work has become vaguer and less concrete, fading like old ink into blurred indeterminacy.
    — Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 16 Aug. 2026
  • It was delivered with sneers, an ugly, small-minded few minutes in support of the sclerotic, disdainful of dynamic change.
    — Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 25 July 2026
Definition of disdainful
Adjective
  • At Fuerte Guaicaipuro, a military facility, investigators documented detainees being confined in pit-like cells dug below ground level and subjected to cold, food deprivation and other degrading treatment.
    — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 16 Sep. 2026
  • The beating can look degrading, but the check might protect opportunities for hundreds of athletes who never appear in the game.
    — Jason Lloyd, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of degrading
Adjective
  • Calling something a white wine thriller could be interpreted as pejorative, if not sexist.
    — Mikey O'Connell, HollywoodReporter, 13 Aug. 2026
  • And of course, didn’t have any pejorative meaning at all then.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of pejorative
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

detractions
detractive
detractor
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Cite this Entry

“Detractive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detractive. Accessed 25 Sep. 2026.

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