Meaning of denigrate in English

Table of contents
  1. Pronunciation
  2. Verb
    1. Etymology
    2. Definitions

  1. Pronunciation

    /ˈdɛnəˌɡreɪt/

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  1. Verb

    denigrate

    Etymology

    late Middle English (in the sense ‘blacken, make dark’): from Latin denigrat-‘blackened’, from the verb denigrare, from de-‘away, completely’ + nigrare (from niger‘black’)

    Definitions

    1. belittle

    Examples

    • « Don't belittle his influence »

    Derived terms

  2. 2. charge falsely or with malicious intent

    Examples

    • « attack the good name and reputation of someone »
    • « The journalists have defamed me!" "The article in the paper sullied my reputation »

    Derived terms

Famous quotes

  • « I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down'. »
    Bob Newhart
  • « We should never denigrate any other culture but rather help people to understand the relationship between their own culture and the dominant culture. When you understand another culture or language, it does not mean that you have to lose your own culture. »
    Edward T. Hall
  • « Those who enjoy their own emotionally bad health and who habitually fill their own minds with the rank poisons of suspicion, jealousy and hatred, as a rule take umbrage at those who refuse to do likewise, and they find a perverted relief in trying to denigrate them. »
    Johannes Brahms

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