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
  • At the end of the last cruise, everyone shunned me, except for Roy, who instead was cruel and insulting to me.
    — Abigail Van Buren, Boston Herald, 6 Aug. 2026
  • This struck Stevens and her allies as immature, insulting, and more than a little sexist.
    — David Weigel, semafor.com, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of insulting
Adjective
  • The Larson campaign became openly contemptuous of Bronin at the May convention.
    — Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 25 July 2026
  • The man didn’t catch Serena’s contemptuous expression, however, too busy peeling bills from a money clip and pressing them into his date’s hand.
    — Raven Brunner, PEOPLE, 30 June 2026
Definition of contemptuous
Adjective
  • Cyberattacks against critical systems often leave defenders searching for clues outside the machine.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Zawiya is home to critical energy infrastructure, including Libya’s largest oil refinery, an export terminal and a power plant.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of critical
Adjective
  • The company wants advanced cybersecurity models to strengthen digital defenses by helping security teams identify and fix vulnerabilities before malicious actors can exploit them.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Their job is to hack devices and patch exploits before malicious actors do.
    — Justyn Newman, PC Magazine, 7 Aug. 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
  • 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
  • Trump, disdainful of international law and untroubled about the fate of the Palestinians, became the only President in fifty years not to support Palestinian self-rule.
    — David D. Kirkpatrick, New Yorker, 20 July 2026
Definition of disdainful
Adjective
  • By suggesting that Black women would willingly place their own children in mortal danger for profit, such narratives provided yet another means of humiliating, degrading and dehumanizing African Americans.
    — The Conversation, The Conversation, 11 Aug. 2026
  • With fracking — which is already outlawed on offshore platforms in California waters, and is widely viewed as an environmentally degrading and often risky process — Gilda’s production would jump to about 4,000 barrels a day.
    — Andre Mouchard, Oc Register, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of degrading
Adjective
  • And of course, didn’t have any pejorative meaning at all then.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 4 Aug. 2026
  • With that in mind, is ring chasing, used as a pejorative, dead after this?
    — Dan Woike, New York Times, 31 July 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 13 Aug. 2026.

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