Nearby Words

denigrate

[den-i-greyt] Example Sentences Origin

den·i·grate

[den-i-greyt]
verb (used with object), -grat·ed, -grat·ing.
1.
to speak damagingly of; criticize in a derogatory manner; sully; defame: to denigrate someone's character.
2.
to treat or represent as lacking in value or importance; belittle; disparage: to denigrate someone's contributions to a project.
3.
to make black; blacken: rain clouds denigrating the sky.

Origin:
1520–30; < Latin dēnigrātus (past participle of dēnigrāre to blacken), equivalent to dē- de- + nigr(āre) to make black + -ātus -ate1

den·i·gra·tion, noun
den·i·gra·tive, adjective
den·i·gra·tor, noun
den·i·gra·to·ry [den-i-gruh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] , adjective
self-den·i·grat·ing, adjective
EXPAND
self-den·i·gra·tion, noun
COLLAPSE


1. malign, besmirch, slander, traduce, disparage, vilify. See decry.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Denigrate is a GRE word you need to know.
So is endemic. Does it mean:
natural to or characteristic of a specific people or place
capable of burning, corroding, or destroying living tissue; severely critical or sarcastic
Example Sentences
  • It's more fashionable to denigrate than praise the media these days.
  • We've all heard people denigrate women's basketball because it's slower and different from the men's game.
  • You denigrate one set of religious clap-trap only to promote another.
EXPAND
Collins
World English Dictionary
denigrate (ˈdɛnɪˌɡreɪt)
 
vb
1.  (tr) to belittle or disparage the character of; defame
2.  a rare word for blacken
 
[C16: from Latin dēnigrāre to make very black, defame, from nigrāre to blacken, from niger black]
 
deni'gration
 
n
 
'denigrator
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

denigrate
1526, from L. denigratus, pp. of denigrare "to blacken, defame," from de- "completely" + nigr-, stem of niger "black," of unknown origin. "Apparently disused in 18th c. and revived in 19th c." [OED].
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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