as in critic
a person who criticizes something or someone
Despite his popularity, his many detractors still think his work is overrated. Even her detractors had to admit that she had made the company successful.
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Recent Examples of detractor
The biggest detractor is the lack of stability.
—
Maggie Slepian, Outside, 26 Jan. 2026
An $850,000 ecotourism resort in Costa Rica for a study abroad program became a rallying cry for his detractors, and a scathing audit uncovered other questionable decisions.
—Greg Bluestein, AJC.com, 26 Jan. 2026
Trump’s detractors may dismiss these bonds as empty or irrelevant.
—Daniel Yudkin, The Atlantic, 24 Jan. 2026
But his detractors don’t always give him enough credit.
—Colton Valentine, New Yorker, 24 Jan. 2026
The detractors charge sheet has a familiar ring.
—Kamal Ahmed, Fortune, 19 Jan. 2026
The Purdy detractors will resurface to a degree in the face of such a one-sided loss.
—Jerry McDonald, Mercury News, 18 Jan. 2026
Weiss detractors have criticized her startup-type management style and her lack of TV news experience.
—Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 18 Jan. 2026
The 2025-26 campaign and postseason — the Bears are two wins away from next month’s Super Bowl LX after winning the division and beating the Packers twice — so far has made their snarky detractors clam up.
—Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 14 Jan. 2026
Maggie Slepian, Outside, 26 Jan. 2026
An $850,000 ecotourism resort in Costa Rica for a study abroad program became a rallying cry for his detractors, and a scathing audit uncovered other questionable decisions.
—Greg Bluestein, AJC.com, 26 Jan. 2026
Trump’s detractors may dismiss these bonds as empty or irrelevant.
—Daniel Yudkin, The Atlantic, 24 Jan. 2026
But his detractors don’t always give him enough credit.
—Colton Valentine, New Yorker, 24 Jan. 2026
The detractors charge sheet has a familiar ring.
—Kamal Ahmed, Fortune, 19 Jan. 2026
The Purdy detractors will resurface to a degree in the face of such a one-sided loss.
—Jerry McDonald, Mercury News, 18 Jan. 2026
Weiss detractors have criticized her startup-type management style and her lack of TV news experience.
—Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 18 Jan. 2026
The 2025-26 campaign and postseason — the Bears are two wins away from next month’s Super Bowl LX after winning the division and beating the Packers twice — so far has made their snarky detractors clam up.
—Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 14 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detractor
Noun
-
Washington Post food critic Elazar Sontag entertains your restaurant questions, rants and raves.—
Elazar Sontag,
Washington Post,
14 Jan. 2026
-
Flynn, a Wu critic who nominated Worrell, was assigned to chair city services.—
Gayla Cawley,
Boston Herald,
13 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
In turn, the criticizer is made out to be overreacting.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Detractor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detractor. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
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