denigrate
verb
Did you know?
If you "denigrate" someone, you attempt to blacken their reputation. It makes sense, therefore, that "denigrate" can be traced back to the Latin verb denigrare, meaning "to blacken." When "denigrate" was first used in English in the 16th century, 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"), but this sense is somewhat rare in modern usage. Nowadays, of course, "denigrate" can also refer to belittling the worth or importance of someone or something.
Synonyms
Examples of denigrate in a Sentence
Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, The New Yorker, 8 May 2024
Sheehan confirmed that Rocky Mountain Health Plans overpaid in the previous fiscal year, but said that was because of its own decisions to denigrate the hospital, deny medically necessary care and direct patients to cheaper hospitals on the Front Range.
—Meg Wingerter, The Denver Post, 1 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for denigrate 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'denigrate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Denigrate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/denigrate. Accessed 29 May. 2024.
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