denigrate
verb
den·i·grate
ˈde-ni-ˌgrāt 
denigrated; denigrating
1
: to attack the reputation of : defame
denigrate one's opponents
2
: to deny the importance or validity of : belittle
denigrate their achievements
Did you know?
The word denigrate has been part of English since the 16th century and can be traced back to the Latin nigrare, meaning "to blacken." When denigrate was first used, it meant "to cast aspersions on someone's character or reputation." Eventually, it developed a second sense of "to make black" ("factory smoke denigrated the sky"), representing an interesting case of a literal sense (now rare) following a figurative one. Nowadays, you’re most likely to hear denigrate used as a synonym of defame or belittle.
Synonyms
Examples of denigrate in a Sentence
Her story denigrates him as a person and as a teacher.
No one is trying to denigrate the importance of a good education. We all know that it is crucial for success.
denigrating the talents and achievements of women
Recent Examples on the Web
Early reggaeton, like salsa before it, and plena before that, were often denigrated because of their origins in working-class Black communities.
—
Vanessa Diaz, Rolling Stone, 20 Jan. 2025
And this is not to denigrate them, this is to deal with the truth.
—Okla Jones, Essence, 20 Jan. 2025
The people who were more likely to oppose transgender women competing in women’s sports were the ones who were more likely to denigrate female athletes in the first place.
—Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2025
Parents living in poverty are sometimes denigrated for doing less to promote their children’s success than middle-class parents who engage in highly visible forms of intensive parenting and investing in their children’s academic and extracurricular success.
—Laura Clawson, JSTOR Daily, 18 Jan. 2025
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Vanessa Diaz, Rolling Stone, 20 Jan. 2025
And this is not to denigrate them, this is to deal with the truth.
—Okla Jones, Essence, 20 Jan. 2025
The people who were more likely to oppose transgender women competing in women’s sports were the ones who were more likely to denigrate female athletes in the first place.
—Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2025
Parents living in poverty are sometimes denigrated for doing less to promote their children’s success than middle-class parents who engage in highly visible forms of intensive parenting and investing in their children’s academic and extracurricular success.
—Laura Clawson, JSTOR Daily, 18 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for denigrate
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Cite this Entry
“Denigrate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/denigrate. Accessed 23 Jan. 2025.
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