denigrate

English

WOTD – 28 June 2009

Etymology

    Derived from Latin dēnigrātus, the perfect passive participle of dēnigrō (“to blacken”) [see -ate (verb-forming suffix)], from dē- (“of; from”) + nigrō (“to blacken”) [from niger (“black”)]. Cognate with Middle English denigart(e) (“darkened, discolored”).

    Pronunciation

    Verb

    denigrate (third-person singular simple present denigrates, present participle denigrating, simple past and past participle denigrated) (transitive)

    2. To criticize so as to besmirch; traduce, disparage or defame.
      Synonyms: badmouth, besmirch, slander; see also Thesaurus:defame
      • 1960 May, O. S. Nock, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 343:
        What grand engines they were! Yet I have noticed a disposition on the part of quite a diversity of present-day commentators to denigrate those engines.
      • 1963 January, “Beyond the Channel: U.S.S.R.”, in Modern Railways, page 62:
        Although in public Soviet officials tend to denigrate the French electric locomotives imported recently, there is little doubt that lessons learnt from these engines will be incorporated in new Russian designs.
    4. To treat as worthless; belittle, degrade or disparage.
      Synonyms: banalize, deprecate, make light of; see also Thesaurus:trivialize
      You have no right to denigrate people and things that you have no personal experience with.
    6. (literal, rare) To blacken.
      Synonyms: black, forswart, nigrify; see also Thesaurus:blacken

    Derived terms

    Translations

    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
    Translations to be checked

    Adjective

    denigrate (comparative more denigrate, superlative most denigrate)

    1. (botany) Blackened.

    Translations

    References

    Anagrams

    Italian

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /de.niˈɡra.te/
    • Rhymes: -ate
    • Hyphenation: de‧ni‧grà‧te

    Verb

    denigrate

    1. second-person plural present and imperative of denigrare

    Anagrams

    Latin

    Pronunciation

    Participle

    dēnigrāte

    1. vocative masculine singular of dēnigrātus

    Verb

    dēnigrāte

    1. second-person plural present active imperative of dēnigrō

    Spanish

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /deniˈɡɾate/ [d̪e.niˈɣ̞ɾa.t̪e]
    • Rhymes: -ate
    • Syllabification: de‧ni‧gra‧te

    Verb

    denigrate

    1. second-person singular voseo imperative of denigrar combined with te
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