decry
Americanverb (used with object)
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to speak disparagingly of; denounce as faulty or worthless; express censure of.
She decried the lack of support for the arts in this country.
- Synonyms:
- minimize, depreciate, discredit, disparage, belittle
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to condemn or depreciate by proclamation, as foreign or obsolete coins.
verb
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to express open disapproval of; disparage
-
to depreciate by proclamation
to decry obsolete coinage
Related Words
Decry, denigrate, deprecate, derogate all involve the expression of censure or disapproval. Decry means to express one's vigorous disapproval of or to denounce: to decry all forms of discrimination. Denigrate means to speak damagingly of, to criticize in derogative terms: denigrating his works as trifling and poorly executed. Deprecate implies the expression of earnest, thoughtful disapproval: to deprecate a plan because of possible environmental damage. Derogate means to speak in such a way as to decrease the status, high quality, or good reputation of someone or something, making the person or object seem of less value: Fear of change makes them derogate every proposal put forth.
Other Word Forms
- decrial noun
- decrier noun
- undecried adjective
Etymology
Origin of decry
1610–20; < French décrier, Old French descrier. See dis- 1, cry
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Okonjo-Iweala wants the Yaounde meeting to open the next chapter in multilateral trading, decrying growing unilateralism and the collective failure of WTO's 166 members to reinvigorate the institution.
From Barron's
She slammed "the unilateralism we have been seeing", decrying the "collective failure" of WTO members over the years to confront their concerns and frustrations.
From Barron's
European governments rallied around Slovenia, decrying foreign interference.
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who now controls the nation’s largest school system, decries the socioeconomic and racial divisions in the public schools.
Black activists decry a ‘Free Palestine’ mural as offensive.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
