derogate
Americanverb (used without object)
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to detract, as from authority, estimation, etc. (usually followed byfrom ).
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to stray in character or conduct; degenerate (usually followed byfrom ).
verb (used with object)
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to disparage or belittle.
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Archaic. to take away (a part) so as to impair the whole.
adjective
verb
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to cause to seem inferior or be in disrepute; detract
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to deviate in standard or quality; degenerate
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(tr) to cause to seem inferior, etc; disparage
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(tr) to curtail the application of (a law or regulation)
adjective
Synonym Usage
See decry.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of derogate
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English from Latin dērogātus “repealed, restricted” (past participle of dērogāre ), equivalent to dē- de- + rog(āre) “to ask” + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
When you derogate someone, you belittle them or put them down. If you tend to derogate everyone around you, it's unlikely you'll win the election for class president. It's extremely common in politics to hear a candidate derogate their opponent, or for one political party to derogate another. When they do this, they are focusing on their adversary's weaknesses and faults in an attempt to harm their reputation. This sense of weakening someone's reputation dates from the 15th century, and it stems from the Latin derogare, "take away," a root derogate shares with derogatory.
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:
One option to deal with the shortfall would be to allow Kilroot to temporarily derogate from its environmental permits though the legality and cost of that is unclear.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2022
Producers and Lee’s estate signed a contract agreeing that “the play shall not derogate or depart in any manner from the spirit of the novel nor alter its characters,” according to The New York Times.
From Slate ● Mar. 15, 2018
The contract the parties signed states that “the Play shall not derogate or depart in any manner from the spirit of the Novel nor alter its characters.”
From New York Times ● Mar. 14, 2018
If you had any other motive in choosing me it was that I was your second cousin, of your own respectable family, and you did not derogate.
From Starvecrow Farm by Weyman, Stanley J.
The recognition of the historical character of experimental science does not in any way derogate from its value, but, properly understood, gives a deeper insight into its significance.
From John Dewey's logical theory by Howard, Delton Thomas
McConnell notes that early executive-legislative skirmishes over information were couched in language about congressional “requests” for information that implicitly acknowledged presidential authority, not subpoenas that derogated it.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 22, 2021
Social psychologists, including my New York University colleague Madeline Heilman, have shown that successful women in traditionally masculine roles are often derogated and disliked.
From Slate ● Dec. 11, 2020
The pressures of adapting the book also were complicated after a lawyer for Lee’s estate filed a lawsuit alleging that Sorkin’s interpretation derogated the “spirit of the novel.”
From Washington Post ● Dec. 11, 2018
The commission’s in-depth investigation opened in February 2015 showed that the scheme derogated from normal practice under Belgian company tax rules and the so-called ‘arm’s length principle’.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 15, 2016
These principles obviously derogated from the glory of Jehovah.
From The Ancient Church Its History, Doctrine, Worship, and Constitution by Killen, W. D. (William Dool)
“That’s not a frivolous argument. But I’m not sure that’s true. I think if you want to restore the rule of law and equal justice, you don’t do it by further derogating from justice.”
From Washington Times ● Jun. 19, 2023
I don’t want to seem like I’m derogating these other films.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 3, 2021
Humans respond to feelings of threat by derogating outgroups.
From Salon ● Dec. 31, 2018
But I think in general terms this is a very derogating thing.
From Time ● Jun. 23, 2013
We can now allow Cæsar to be a great Man, without derogating from Pompey; and celebrate the Virtues of Cato, without detracting from those of Cæsar.
From The Spectator, Volume 1 Eighteenth-Century Periodical Essays by Addison, Joseph
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.
