as in critics
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 detractors
Fixed with a seemingly permanent half-smile — detractors called it a smirk — Cheney joked about his outsize reputation as a stealthy manipulator.
—
Calvin Woodward, Fortune, 4 Nov. 2025
Carbon capture and sequestration technology is expensive, unproven and possibly dangerous, say detractors like Kerwin Olson, the executive director of the Citizens Action Coalition, a consumer advocacy group.
—Sophie Hartley, IndyStar, 30 Oct. 2025
Despite its vast potential, fusion has its share of detractors.
—Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Oct. 2025
The athlete has embraced the term given to her by her detractors, and trademarked it and created merchandise, including naming one of her sneaker colorways after it.
—Karla Rodriguez, Footwear News, 28 Oct. 2025
However, the series wasn't without its detractors.
—Jordan Runtagh, PEOPLE, 27 Oct. 2025
Without a flashy passing game, Iowa’s style of play generates plenty of detractors.
—Scott Dochterman, New York Times, 26 Oct. 2025
But everything else — revenue sharing and NIL deals that hinge on endorsements and appearances — is where those detractors tend to draw the line.
—Andrea Williams, Nashville Tennessean, 24 Oct. 2025
This was the Kuminga that even his biggest detractors had to acknowledge existed somewhere.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 22 Oct. 2025
Calvin Woodward, Fortune, 4 Nov. 2025
Carbon capture and sequestration technology is expensive, unproven and possibly dangerous, say detractors like Kerwin Olson, the executive director of the Citizens Action Coalition, a consumer advocacy group.
—Sophie Hartley, IndyStar, 30 Oct. 2025
Despite its vast potential, fusion has its share of detractors.
—Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Oct. 2025
The athlete has embraced the term given to her by her detractors, and trademarked it and created merchandise, including naming one of her sneaker colorways after it.
—Karla Rodriguez, Footwear News, 28 Oct. 2025
However, the series wasn't without its detractors.
—Jordan Runtagh, PEOPLE, 27 Oct. 2025
Without a flashy passing game, Iowa’s style of play generates plenty of detractors.
—Scott Dochterman, New York Times, 26 Oct. 2025
But everything else — revenue sharing and NIL deals that hinge on endorsements and appearances — is where those detractors tend to draw the line.
—Andrea Williams, Nashville Tennessean, 24 Oct. 2025
This was the Kuminga that even his biggest detractors had to acknowledge existed somewhere.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 22 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detractors
critics
Noun
-
The exchange with the radio host went too far even for some of Mamdani’s Democratic critics, who condemned the conversation as Islamophobic.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
-
John Ruskin, the greatest of architectural critics, observed that a nation writes its history in many books, but that the book of its buildings is the most enduring.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
25 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Detractors.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detractors. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
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