deprecate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to express earnest disapproval of.
The physician’s committee moved to deprecate the standard American diet.
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to urge reasons against; protest against (a scheme, purpose, etc.).
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to depreciate; belittle.
How can companies redress the experiences of marginalized team members whose voices are being deprecated in the workplace?
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Computers. to cease supporting or recommending the use of (older elements, features, or versions of software).
The publisher deprecates products after five years or if more than two more recent versions are available.
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Archaic. to pray for deliverance from.
verb
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to express disapproval of; protest against
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to depreciate (a person, someone's character, etc); belittle
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archaic to try to ward off by prayer
Commonly Confused
See depreciate
Synonym Usage
See decry.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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deprecationnoun
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deprecatornoun
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deprecatingadjective
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deprecativeadjective
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half-deprecatingadjective
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nondeprecatingadjective
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undeprecatingadjective
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deprecatinglyadverb
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deprecativelyadverb
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half-deprecatinglyadverb
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nondeprecatinglyadverb
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undeprecatinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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deprecatesimple
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deprecatessimple
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have deprecatedperfect
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has deprecatedperfect
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am deprecatingprogressive
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are deprecatingprogressive
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is deprecatingprogressive
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have been deprecatingperfect progressive
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has been deprecatingperfect progressive
Past
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deprecatedsimple
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had deprecatedperfect
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was deprecatingprogressive
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were deprecatingprogressive
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had been deprecatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of deprecate
First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin dēprecātus “prayed against, warded off” (past participle of dēprecārī ), equivalent to dē- “away from, out of“ + precārī “to pray” + -ātus past participle suffix; see de-, pray, -ate 1
Explanation
To deprecate is to show disapproval or to make someone feel unimportant by speaking to them disrespectfully, like seniors who deprecate younger students just for fun. To deprecate is to diminish, or to oppose, like when someone deprecates your dream of climbing Mt. Everest by calling it "a little walk up a hill." Some people deprecate themselves, which is called being self-deprecating. People who are self-deprecating downplay their abilities because they are humble — or want to appear that way. So if you do climb Everest and you are self-deprecating, you'll say it wasn't such a big deal, even if it was the proudest moment of your life.
Vocabulary lists containing deprecate
Frankenstein
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Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address (1865)
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Grade 12, List 6
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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.
See Examples For:
“I therefore deprecate attempts to expound Wittgenstein’s thought as a finished thing.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 18, 2025
It is easy to deprecate the single phrase inscribed atop the entrance to our courthouse by conceptualizing it as a mere platitude.
From Slate ● Jun. 20, 2025
A lot of people don’t know that world, so I’m going to have to introduce myself to them and then self-deprecate enough to earn the opportunity to then deprecate them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 2, 2025
This word is imprecise and is used universally to deprecate the person or group described.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 10, 2023
I admit we must conform to custom, and I strongly deprecate individual eccentricity, especially in a lady.
From Ladies on Horseback Learning, Park-Riding, and Hunting, with Hints upon Costume, and Numerous Anecdotes by Lambert, Nannie
He regularly deprecates himself with a dry wit.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 18, 2023
However, it is specified that the Speaker "deprecates personal remarks about other Members".
From BBC ● Dec. 21, 2018
Though there is obviously truth in this approach, then and now, du Rivage deprecates it as much as it has ever been deprecated.
From The New Yorker ● May 8, 2017
Conversely, she is deeply interested in how contemporary culture feeds on and deprecates female vulnerability and pain.
From Slate ● Feb. 24, 2017
He deprecates the allowance of very much fluid for patients, since their thirst cannot be assuaged in that way, and the amount of liquid taken may be harmful by causing depression.
From Makers of Modern Medicine by Walsh, James J. (James Joseph)
“Blocking public posts makes no sense. It needs to be deprecated in favor of a stronger form of mute,” Mr. Musk tweeted.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 8, 2023
It is kind of intuitive at this point to say we have had hundreds of billions of dollars in 3D assets invested, and all of those essentially get deprecated after their first use.
From The Verge ● Jul. 19, 2022
For now, there is a lot of nonautomated, human effort involved in the process of pruning the internet encyclopedia from the Daily Mail and other deprecated sources.
From Slate ● Jul. 1, 2021
In an article for the national tabloid Expressen, Engdahl deprecated the vulgarity of his opponents in the academy, and called them “a clique of bad losers … who plotted to wound and humiliate Katarina Frostenson”.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 17, 2018
This lady was the cynosure of all eyes, not only on account of her capital riding but her dress, which I heard deprecated by some as "too loud."
From The Barb and the Bridle A Handbook of Equitation for Ladies, and Manual of Instruction in the Science of Riding, from the Preparatory Suppling Exercises by Moustache, Vielle
His own company SpaceX, he now says, despite previously deprecating the moon, will focus on developing a “self-growing city” there “in less than 10 years.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 10, 2026
“It’s so self deprecating without being pandering, you know?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 14, 2024
It’s niche, yes, but the folks interested in that niche are passionate about it, despite the deprecating memes.
From Slate ● Oct. 10, 2024
As early as 1989, Gaines had conceived of a show that would juxtapose powerful contemporary work by Black Americans with deprecating excerpts by art critics, highlighting the profound mismeasure of these artists’ achievements.
From New York Times ● May 16, 2024
“I was just an of country boy with my britches hangin’ out,” Gaines said to Belew with a little deprecating laugh.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
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.
