deprecate
Americanverb (used with object)
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deprecates,
present (3rd person singular)
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deprecated,
past participle, past
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deprecating
present participle
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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
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
“If there are products that aren’t resonating with customers we deprecate those items and look for other opportunities,” Taddy said.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 10, 2023
“Why? Because those algorithmic systems precisely are designed like a great, sort of giant spam filter to identify and deprecate and downgrade bad content.”
From Washington Post ● Oct. 12, 2021
But he was loquacious this evening, seeming anxious to deprecate a harsh verdict on her part.
From My Lords of Strogue Vol. III, (of III) A Chronicle of Ireland, from the Convention to the Union by Lewis Wingfield
He regularly deprecates himself with a dry wit.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 18, 2023
On the one hand, he deprecates the continuities between the twentieth-century cults and the more improvisatory autocrats of our day.
From The New Yorker ● Dec. 16, 2019
However, it is specified that the Speaker "deprecates personal remarks about other Members".
From BBC ● Dec. 21, 2018
Conversely, she is deeply interested in how contemporary culture feeds on and deprecates female vulnerability and pain.
From Slate ● Feb. 24, 2017
Mr. Gladstone deprecates the tone generally assumed in speaking of the Crimean War.
From The Real Gladstone an Anecdotal Biography by J. Ewing (James Ewing) Ritchie
“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
Older’s story shows us the uncomfortable disconnect between treating Shristi’s robot, Naneen, like a cherished caregiver and treating it like a deprecated piece of hardware.
From Slate ● Dec. 24, 2019
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
And the Archive says it'll do a better job of supporting deprecated formats, so the media inside old web pages won't vanish forever.
From The Verge ● Oct. 22, 2015
The ordinary system of placing one pin at the back of the collar and one at either end is much to be deprecated.
From Ladies on Horseback Learning, Park-Riding, and Hunting, with Hints upon Costume, and Numerous Anecdotes by Nannie Lambert
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
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
