denigrate

views updated May 23 2018

den·i·grate / ˈdeniˌgrāt/ • v. [tr.] criticize unfairly; disparage: there is a tendency to denigrate the poor.DERIVATIVES: den·i·gra·tion / ˌdeniˈgrāshən/ n.den·i·gra·tor / -ˌgrātər/ n.den·i·gra·to·ry / -grəˌtôrē/ adj.

denigrate

views updated Jun 11 2018

denigrate blacken, lit. and fig. XVI. — pp. stem of L. dēnigrāre, f. DE- 3 + nigrāre, f. niger, nigr- black; see -ATE 3.
So denigration XV.