1
as in humiliating
to reduce to a lower standing in one's own eyes or in others' eyes
attempted to discredit her political opponents by deliberately spreading false rumors
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in denying
to think not to be true or real
I discredit the story that the old inn is haunted
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in refuting
to prove to be false
the pseudoscience of phrenology has been thoroughly discredited
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of discrediting
There would be accusations of race manipulation, an online mob discrediting Wallace’s win as undeserved, and an angry Joe Gibbs Racing organization, which would now realize Hamlin puts another team’s interests ahead of their own.
—
Jeff Gluck, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
Further discrediting itself, Thursday’s writeup includes a marketing pitch for the SquareX platform.
—Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 28 Aug. 2025
Wolfenbarger’s defense attorneys began to focus on discrediting Norma as a witness after prosecutors relied on her testimony to show the jury that her daughter Melissa had allegedly suffered abuse at the hands of her husband before her 1998 disappearance, according to WSB-TV.
—Sean Neumann, People.com, 21 Aug. 2025
Right-wing Channel 14 has devoted coverage in recent weeks to discrediting some reports of starving children.
—Emily Rose, USA Today, 12 Aug. 2025
In the early 2000s, the program ruled against more than 5,000 claims from families who said vaccines led to their children’s autism, citing hundreds of scientific studies discrediting the link.
—Matthew Perrone, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2025
That’s because every time a Chinese company has the temerity to succeed stateside, protectionist impulses within the political and administrative classes get to work on discrediting the company with charges of – yes – espionage.
—John Tamny, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2025
Poor data quality can provide wrong models and alerts, discrediting predictive monitoring.
—Hrushikesh Deshmukh, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2025
Find a paper in a journal that says as much and, more important, ignore the countless other articles discrediting the same idea.
—Adam Marcus, The Atlantic, 13 Feb. 2025
Jeff Gluck, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
Further discrediting itself, Thursday’s writeup includes a marketing pitch for the SquareX platform.
—Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 28 Aug. 2025
Wolfenbarger’s defense attorneys began to focus on discrediting Norma as a witness after prosecutors relied on her testimony to show the jury that her daughter Melissa had allegedly suffered abuse at the hands of her husband before her 1998 disappearance, according to WSB-TV.
—Sean Neumann, People.com, 21 Aug. 2025
Right-wing Channel 14 has devoted coverage in recent weeks to discrediting some reports of starving children.
—Emily Rose, USA Today, 12 Aug. 2025
In the early 2000s, the program ruled against more than 5,000 claims from families who said vaccines led to their children’s autism, citing hundreds of scientific studies discrediting the link.
—Matthew Perrone, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2025
That’s because every time a Chinese company has the temerity to succeed stateside, protectionist impulses within the political and administrative classes get to work on discrediting the company with charges of – yes – espionage.
—John Tamny, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2025
Poor data quality can provide wrong models and alerts, discrediting predictive monitoring.
—Hrushikesh Deshmukh, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2025
Find a paper in a journal that says as much and, more important, ignore the countless other articles discrediting the same idea.
—Adam Marcus, The Atlantic, 13 Feb. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for discrediting
Verb
-
This announcement, humiliating the involved member, is harmful.—
Kelly G. Richardson,
Oc Register,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Cohen previously revealed there would be some new faces when the Bravo series returned, denying that the show would be cancelled.—
Rachel McRady,
PEOPLE,
26 Sep. 2025
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What struck me most is how Bertrand has survived by embracing, not denying, its history.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
25 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Health experts and medical organizations are refuting claims of a link between Tylenol use during pregnancy and autism.—
Beth Warren,
Nashville Tennessean,
25 Sep. 2025
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Barrett himself previously addressed the rumors surrounding his time off, refuting any suggestion that he had been removed from his position.—
Andrew Ravens,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
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That behavior is embarrassing anywhere, and goes against all of golf etiquette.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
30 Sep. 2025
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That wasn't Carey's first time embarrassing her children.—
Kayla Grant,
PEOPLE,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The higher-ups are disbelieving, but Alex points out that the network has a fancy new AI that can replicate her voice in a zillion languages.—
Kimberly Roots,
TVLine,
24 Sep. 2025
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Pearl, Dale’s adult daughter, vacillates between disbelieving that her father committed suicide and blaming her mother for it.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The internet, however, was skeptical and shredded that session’s data in short order, negating it.—
Ben Oliver,
Robb Report,
30 Sep. 2025
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Laing said the city received the unsolicited proposal in July and rejected it out of hand, negating any need to alert council members.—
Jeff McDonald,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Why Many Parents Are Posting This Trend There’s a lot of parent shaming and judging going on right now, a sense that every parent is potentially going to be on trial.—
Robyn Koslowitz,
Parents,
16 Sep. 2025
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While hosting Kirk's namesake podcast, Vance blamed liberals for political violence and advocated for shaming and calling the employers of those publicly cheering Kirk's death.—
Christian Orozco,
NBC news,
16 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Discrediting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/discrediting. Accessed 4 Oct. 2025.
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