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Denigrate: meaning, example and synonyms

Denigratev. To criticize unfairly or speak of as worthless; to belittle.

Flashcard for Denigrate (verb): to criticize unfairly or speak of as worthless; to belittle. Example: Early critics denigrated the new style of painting as crude and childish, though later scholars came to regard it as a turning point in modern art. Synonyms: disparage, belittle, malign, defame. Antonyms: praise, extol, acclaim, laud. Memory tip: Latin denigrare = to blacken: denigrating blackens a reputation. Illustration: in a gallery, a sneering critic in a tweed jacket waving dismissively at a bold abstract painting while the young painter beside it looks downcast.

Example

Early critics denigrated the new style of painting as crude and childish, though later scholars came to regard it as a turning point in modern art.

Part of speech
verb
Synonyms
disparage, belittle, malign, defame
Antonyms
praise, extol, acclaim, laud
Memory tip
Latin denigrare = to blacken: denigrating blackens a reputation.

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Check yourself: Denigrate in context

Pick the word that best completes each text.

Question 1

Rather than engage with the substance of her rival's research, the professor chose to ______ it, dismissing years of careful fieldwork as amateurish and worthless.

Question 2

Historians now caution against the habit of earlier scholars to ______ societies that left no written records, treating them as crude simply because they lacked texts.

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