denigrate

(dĕn'ĭ-grāt')
tr.v., -grat·ed, -grat·ing, -grates.

1. To attack the character or reputation of; speak ill of; defame.
2. To disparage; belittle: The critics have denigrated our efforts.

[Latin dēnigrāre, dēnigrāt-, to blacken, defame : dē-, de- + niger, nigr-, black.]

denigration den'i·gra'tion n.
denigrator den'i·gra'tor n.

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verb

1. To contaminate the reputation of: befoul, besmear, besmirch, bespatter, blacken, cloud, dirty, smear, smudge, smut, soil, spatter, stain, sully, taint, tarnish. Idioms: give a black eye to, slingthrowmud on. See attack/defend, clean/dirty.
2. To think, represent, or speak of as small or unimportant: belittle, decry, deprecate, depreciate, derogate, detract, discount, disparage, downgrade, minimize, run down, slight, talk down. Idioms: makelightlittleof. See attack/defend, show/hide.

v

Definition: belittle, malign
Antonyms: boost, cherish, compliment, praise

IN BRIEF: adj. - (used of statements) harmful and often untrue.

Denigrating child rearing and endorsing the notion that every human being's value can be measured by one's place in the market is not, to my mind, much of a manifesto — Ruth Conniff, Source: __________ Women Who Change Diapers, The Progressive September 5, 2006

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For a list of words related to denigrate, see:

• Judgments Pro and Con - denigrate: sneer at; blacken the reputation of
• Blame, Censure, Ridicule, and Contempt - denigrate: (vb) defame, cast aspersions on

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See words rhyming with "denigratory."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Denigrate.

Common misspelling(s) of denigrating

• denegrating

Dansk (Danish)
v. tr. - rakke ned på, sværte til

Nederlands (Dutch)
denigreren (zwart maken)

Français (French)
v. tr. - dénigrer, discréditer

Deutsch (German)
v. - herabsetzen, verunglimpfen

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - κακολογώ, διαβάλλω

Italiano (Italian)
denigrare

Português (Portuguese)
v. - denegrir

Русский (Russian)
чернить, порочить

Español (Spanish)
v. tr. - denigrar

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - racka ned på

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
使变黑, 诋毁, 玷污

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 使變黑, 詆毀, 玷污

한국어 (Korean)
v. tr. - (명예를)더럽히다, 비방하다, 검게 하다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 侮辱する, 名誉を毀損する, 黒くする

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يشوه سمعه شخص أو شئ, يقلل من شأن شئ‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮השמיץ‬

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