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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detractive
Adjective
-
Considering there were only 33 appearances this past season, such Heat prudence hardly could be viewed as insulting.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
20 June 2026 -
What Florence has been doing is consistent and insulting.—
Jeanne Phillips,
Mercury News,
19 June 2026
Adjective
-
The Uganda Law Society demanded Lukwago's immediate release, saying his arrest was contemptuous of court processes.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
15 June 2026
-
Koenig’s former Yankees teammates were contemptuous of that miserly decision.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 June 2026
Adjective
-
Under California law, police agencies are generally required to release to the public audio and video recordings of police shootings and other critical incidents involving great bodily injury within 45 days of the incident.—
Richard Winton,
Los Angeles Times,
16 June 2026
-
The upgrade is part of the B-52 Radar Modernization Program — a critical component of a broader strategy that aims to extend the B-52’s service life through 2050.—
Reeti Malhotra,
Sacbee.com,
16 June 2026
Adjective
-
Tech companies are developing tools and collaborating, yet voluntary efforts struggle against sophisticated malicious actors.—
Richard Fowler,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2026
-
For cybersecurity companies, identifying a digital agent crawling a website used to be enough evidence of malicious activity.—
Rachyl Jones,
semafor.com,
17 June 2026
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
-
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
Adjective
-
His whole behavior toward women is so disdainful.—
David Remnick,
New Yorker,
17 June 2026
-
The popularity of e-bikes and e-motos has soared since the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving lawmakers and law enforcement scrambling to regulate the bikes that are often used by young riders ignorant or disdainful of the rules of the road.—
Sean Emery,
Oc Register,
22 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
No one should be subject to listening to the most degrading and profane words that now seem popular with some people.—
Judith Martin,
Mercury News,
16 June 2026
-
According to the company, the electronic attack variant is intended to provide non-kinetic effects on the battlefield by disrupting and degrading enemy sensors and reconnaissance networks.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
14 June 2026
Adjective
-
Not in the pejorative, party girl sense, but in a cool, chaotically chic way.—
Kaleigh Werner,
Footwear News,
12 June 2026
-
These aren’t just NIMBY complaints—not in the pejorative sense, at least.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
7 May 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Detractive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detractive. Accessed 23 Jun. 2026.
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