denigrate

UK/ˈdɛn.ɪ.ɡɹeɪ̯t/US/ˈdɛn.ɪ.ɡɹeɪ̯t/

verbC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #12,287 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: denigrated, denigrating, denigrates

To denigrate is to run somebody's reputation down unfairly. Denigrate his work, denigrate the profession, without denigrating anybody.

The unfairness is built in, which is why nobody admits to doing it. The Latin means to blacken, and the word's history is one reason some writers now prefer disparage or belittle.

Definitions of denigrate

1verbdenigrateTo run somebody's reputation down unfairly.C1
“Politicians often denigrate their rivals instead of discussing real issues.”

denigrate is a belittling.

Where it comes from

Latin denigrare means to blacken, from de- plus niger, black.

Latin
dēnigrātus
English, today
denigrate

Built from

dēnigrō · Latin — to blacken
dē- · Latin — of; from
nigrō · Latin — to blacken
niger · Latin — black

From Latin dēnigrātus, from dēnigrō. Latin dēnigrātus, the of dēnigrō (“to blacken”) see -ate, from dē- (“of; from”) + nigrō (“to blacken”) from niger (“black”). Cognate with Middle English denigrat (“darkened, discolored”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

denigrate in the wild

In his later years, he was known (and sometimes criticized) for incorporating Christian themes and messages into his strips and seeming to denigrate other religions.
Johnny Hart
Historically, the term was applied in Christian antiquity to denigrate non-Christian religions, and subsequently acquired its current usage with the Age of Enlightenment.
Religious fanaticism
As a court scholar, Sima had every reason to denigrate the earlier emperor to flatter his own, but later Confucians did not question the story.
Burning of books and burying of scholars
Although many denigrate De Bock's work as too gray and too sketchy, Hague School champions love his work.
Théophile de Bock
The clear intention of the author of this tract, written for a Christian audience, was to denigrate Islam's founder as a false prophet and a wicked man.
Chronica Prophetica

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the niger family

necromancer denigrate

denigrate — used about once every 13,270 pages · #12,287 · point at the bar for the others

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