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
Adjective
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Stuck a feather in his cap and called it macaroni is insulting because a macaroni was a pejorative term used to describe a fashionable man with feminine traits of 18th-century Britain.—
Kurt Snibbe,
Oc Register,
2 July 2025 -
Conversations revealed an ongoing dialogue that was not only deeply insulting to Read, but morally offensive to women broadly.—
Gemma Allen,
Forbes.com,
25 June 2025
Adjective
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By contrast, there’s something almost nakedly contemptuous about the end of this season.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
30 May 2025
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That’s fine by an administration that seems basically contemptuous of the very concept of due process.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
31 May 2025
Adjective
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Future View Of Mentorship Looking ahead, the role of mentors in fostering innovation will become even more critical and nuanced.—
David Henkin,
Forbes.com,
16 July 2025
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Most recently garnering critical acclaim for her starring role opposite Nicholas Hoult and Bill Skarsgård in Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu, Depp is repped by CAA, Markham, Froggatt & Irwin, Agence Adequat, and Lichter, Grossman, Nichols.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
15 July 2025
Adjective
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Attacks are now surging across the U.S., targeting citizens with malicious texts, emails and popups.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
22 July 2025
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Because the malicious screen is transparent, there are no visual cues to suggest anything suspicious is happening.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
21 July 2025
Adjective
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Living the Values: Nothing is more disparaging for employees than having a leader who demonstrates behaviors that do not align with the organizational values, and no one seems to care.—
Tony Gambill,
Forbes.com,
24 June 2025
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The 2023 Economic Report Of The President published in March of 2023 was relatively disparaging of cryptoassets and DLTs.—
Lawrence Wintermeyer,
Forbes,
5 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Trump has even been disdainful or dismissive of the United States’ traditional allies, such as Mexico and Argentina.—
Christopher Sabatini,
Foreign Affairs,
8 Nov. 2017
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Wise minds inside the Trump administration will hopefully choose to drop a suit first introduced during by a Biden administration reflexively disdainful of big.—
John Tamny,
Forbes.com,
10 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Another study in Frontiers in Neuroscience found that even moderate, chronic sleep restriction produces cumulative effects, subtly degrading decision quality and emotional regulation over time.—
Julian Hayes II,
Forbes.com,
10 July 2025
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Remember, too, that placing the plastic ID tags that come with your plant near its base isn’t a great solution; they get lost and break easily, and the degrading plastic isn’t good for the health of your soil.—
Mike Irvine,
Better Homes & Gardens,
22 June 2025
Adjective
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In fact, locals use a different (and pejorative) term for the other versions: arroz con cosas, or rice with things.—
Sofia Perez,
Forbes.com,
10 July 2025
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Stuck a feather in his cap and called it macaroni is insulting because a macaroni was a pejorative term used to describe a fashionable man with feminine traits of 18th-century Britain.—
Kurt Snibbe,
Oc Register,
2 July 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Detractive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detractive. Accessed 25 Jul. 2025.
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