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
Maybe Whitney Halberstram is a construction, just like his detractors have been saying all along.
—
Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 16 Feb. 2026
Women fighting for the right to vote were seen by their detractors as unfeminine, and vinegar valentines were a cheap and convenient medium to enforce gender roles.
—Melissa Chan, Fortune, 14 Feb. 2026
Miro Šatan, the former NHL star who has been the head of the Slovak Ice Hockey Federation since 2019, has his detractors.
—Mark Lazerus, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2026
The case is the first time the Justice Department has attempted to classify critical speech from prominent Trump detractors as a crime.
—Jeremy Roebuck, Washington Post, 13 Feb. 2026
To its detractors, the act has unfairly hobbled American companies while foreign rivals swoop in.
—Geir Moulson, Los Angeles Times, 10 Feb. 2026
The agencies have also faced criticism for a wave of policies that detractors say trample on the rights of both immigrants facing arrest and Americans protesting the enforcement actions.
—Rebecca Santana, Chicago Tribune, 10 Feb. 2026
But not everyone shares excitement over the success sequence — which may come across as innocuous advice, but detractors say is built upon dubious data, overlooks racial disparities and shames students who are raised in single-parent households.
—Elizabeth Chuck, NBC news, 5 Feb. 2026
Trump’s predilection for executive action over legislative dealmaking should concern supporters and bring some measure of comfort to his detractors.
—Abby McCloskey, Twin Cities, 5 Feb. 2026
Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 16 Feb. 2026
Women fighting for the right to vote were seen by their detractors as unfeminine, and vinegar valentines were a cheap and convenient medium to enforce gender roles.
—Melissa Chan, Fortune, 14 Feb. 2026
Miro Šatan, the former NHL star who has been the head of the Slovak Ice Hockey Federation since 2019, has his detractors.
—Mark Lazerus, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2026
The case is the first time the Justice Department has attempted to classify critical speech from prominent Trump detractors as a crime.
—Jeremy Roebuck, Washington Post, 13 Feb. 2026
To its detractors, the act has unfairly hobbled American companies while foreign rivals swoop in.
—Geir Moulson, Los Angeles Times, 10 Feb. 2026
The agencies have also faced criticism for a wave of policies that detractors say trample on the rights of both immigrants facing arrest and Americans protesting the enforcement actions.
—Rebecca Santana, Chicago Tribune, 10 Feb. 2026
But not everyone shares excitement over the success sequence — which may come across as innocuous advice, but detractors say is built upon dubious data, overlooks racial disparities and shames students who are raised in single-parent households.
—Elizabeth Chuck, NBC news, 5 Feb. 2026
Trump’s predilection for executive action over legislative dealmaking should concern supporters and bring some measure of comfort to his detractors.
—Abby McCloskey, Twin Cities, 5 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detractor
Noun
-
That case also crashed and burned in court and has been seen by critics as another example of an unnecessary prosecution that hurts the DOJ’s accountability image.—
Kaelan Deese,
The Washington Examiner,
15 Feb. 2026
-
Gartside tended to lead with the deconstructionist angle on his writing, and most critics seemed to take it as a given that all the lovey-dovey stuff was conceptual cleverness, a way of infiltrating pop and turning its lingua franca in on itself.—
Andy Cush,
Pitchfork,
15 Feb. 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 18 Feb. 2026.
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