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
Related Words
See decry.
Other Word Forms
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.
“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
This word is imprecise and is used universally to deprecate the person or group described.
From Washington Post • Feb. 10, 2023
It’s a big lift, though: Consumers have Netflix and Facebook at their fingertips, and newsrooms that were cut in half are pivoting online and relying on digital metrics that deprecate routine civic coverage.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 29, 2021
But why do I deprecate your anger? you, who were ever so good, so tender, and indulgent to the apprehensions of your friends.
From The Sylph, Volume I and II by Cavendish, Georgiana
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.
