detractor

[dih-trak-ter]

noun

1. a person who tries to take away from the quality, value, or reputation of someone or something; critic.

   There were strong reactions after the film was screened in Israel, with the public divided between detractors and admirers.

Word History and Origins

Origin of detractor¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; from Latin dētractor, equivalent to dētract(us) “drawn away” + -or -or ² ( def. ); detract ( def. )

Example Sentences

Nearly 50 people spoke up at Tuesday’s meeting, with detractors also expressing concerns about water use and pollution from burning the gas.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

His detractors accuse him of ruling the country with an iron fist and of choosing his electoral opponents, stressing that courts have barred the main opposition leaders from standing.

Read more on Barron's

Asean advocates says this is what keeps it united, and that it can quietly exert pressure effectively behind the scenes – but detractors say it makes it toothless.

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Noboa has denied the allegations of attempts on his life - the third in two months - were a means of portraying his detractors as violent.

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Contemporary horror has already sailed past the grace period that detractors used to give the genre when it would surge before inevitably stumbling once more.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• critic