5 results for: deprecate
dep·re·cate
Audio Help [dep-ri-keyt] Pronunciation Key
—Related forms
Audio Help [dep-ri-keyt] Pronunciation Key –verb (used with object), -cat·ed, -cat·ing.
| 1. | to express earnest disapproval of. |
| 2. | to urge reasons against; protest against (a scheme, purpose, etc.). |
| 3. | to depreciate; belittle. |
| 4. | Archaic. to pray for deliverance from. |
[Origin: 1615–25; < L déprecātus prayed against, warded off (ptp. of déprecārī), equiv. to dé- de- + prec(ārī) to pray + -ātus -ate1
]
] —Related forms
dep·re·cat·ing·ly, adverb
dep·re·ca·tion, noun
dep·re·ca·tor, noun
—Usage note An early and still the most current sense of deprecate is “to express disapproval of.” In a sense development still occasionally criticized by a few, deprecate has come to be synonymous with the similar but etymologically unrelated word depreciate in the sense “belittle”: The author modestly deprecated the importance of his work. In compounds with self-, deprecate has almost totally replaced depreciate in modern usage: Her self-deprecating account of her career both amused and charmed the audience.
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
deprecate
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| dep·re·cate
Audio Help (děp'rĭ-kāt') Pronunciation Key
tr.v. de·pre·cat·ed, de·pre·cat·ing, de·pre·cates
[Latin dēprecārī, dēprecāt-, to ward off by prayer : dē-, de- + precārī, to pray; see prek- in Indo-European roots.] dep're·cat'ing·ly adv., dep're·ca'tion n., dep're·ca'tor n. Usage Note: The first and fully accepted meaning of deprecate is "to express disapproval of." But the word has steadily encroached on the meaning of depreciate. It is now used, almost to the exclusion of depreciate, in the sense "to belittle or mildly disparage," as in He deprecated his own contribution. In an earlier survey, this newer sense was approved by a majority of the Usage Panel. |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
| deprecate | |
verb | |
| 1. | express strong disapproval of; deplore |
| 2. | belittle; "The teacher should not deprecate his student's efforts" |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
Deprecate
Dep"re*cate\ (d[e^]p"r[-e]*k[=a]t), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Deprecated (-k[=a]`t[e^]d); p. pr. & vb. n. Deprecating (-k[=a]`t[i^]ng).] [L. deprecatus, p. p. of deprecari to avert by prayer, to deprecate; de- + precari to pray. See Pray.] To pray against, as an evil; to seek to avert by prayer; to desire the removal of; to seek deliverance from; to express deep regret for; to disapprove of strongly. His purpose was deprecated by all round him, and he was with difficulty induced to adandon it. --Sir W. Scott.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
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