discredit
Americanverb (used with object)
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to injure the credit or reputation of; defame.
an effort to discredit honest politicians.
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to show to be undeserving of trust or belief; destroy confidence in.
Later research discredited earlier theories.
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to give no credence to; disbelieve.
There was good reason to discredit the witness.
noun
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loss or lack of belief or confidence; disbelief; distrust.
His theories met with general discredit.
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loss or lack of repute or esteem; disrepute.
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something that damages a good reputation.
This behavior will be a discredit to your good name.
verb
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to damage the reputation of
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to cause to be disbelieved or distrusted
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to reject as untrue or of questionable accuracy
noun
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a person, thing, or state of affairs that causes disgrace
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damage to a reputation
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lack of belief or confidence
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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discreditsimple
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discreditssimple
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have discreditedperfect
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has discreditedperfect
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am discreditingprogressive
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are discreditingprogressive
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is discreditingprogressive
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have been discreditingperfect progressive
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has been discreditingperfect progressive
Past
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discreditedsimple
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had discreditedperfect
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was discreditingprogressive
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were discreditingprogressive
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had been discreditingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of discredit
Explanation
Discredit means to cause mistrust or cast the accuracy of something into doubt. If you say that schooling is important to you, but you never study, your actions discredit you and your words. You discredit what someone says when you choose not to believe it. You can discredit the rumors going around about your boyfriend if you are sure of his love. On a more personal level, you discredit people when you cast their authority or reputation into doubt. If you're running a tough race for class president, your opponent may try to discredit you by talking about your failures or even making up lies about you. But this would be to the discredit of your opponent — his or her own reputation would suffer for this bad behavior.
Vocabulary lists containing discredit
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Believe It or Not: Cred
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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:
Her legal team described the businessman as a Russian-born exile and outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, arguing that Pitt’s claims amounted to an inaccurate and xenophobic attempt to discredit him.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026
Seemingly to discredit the precedent, she argues the Court is too quick to dismiss the idea that the Bruen history test should include post-Civil War Southern laws disarming blacks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
“This is the reward for our warning the world that these viruses were coming,” Daszak says of the campaign to discredit EcoHealth.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2026
While even reliable AI detectors can produce false results, researchers say a crop of fraudulent tools has emerged online, easily weaponized to discredit authentic content and tarnish reputations.
From Barron's ● Mar. 30, 2026
Los Alamos constantly worried that if it rejected a project, it would be seen, to its discredit, as “less ‘enthusiastic’ ” than its rival, Livermore.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
“This makes us vulnerable and discredits our goal to be a strong, independent geopolitical power,” Pentus-Rosimannus said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 2, 2026
For this reason, Lacreuse said she doesn’t believe that the most recent chimpanzee study discredits the grandmother hypothesis.
From Salon ● Dec. 11, 2023
The minute they started labeling it with conspiracy theories, it discredits the purity of the work.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2023
An undated official misconduct document says an officer was being disciplined for conduct which "discredits the Police Service or public confidence in it".
From BBC ● Mar. 29, 2023
Craig said the problem with things is that everyone is always comparing everyone with everyone and because of that, it discredits people, like in his photography classes.
From "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky
This account lines up with the information provided in the CIA cables from the previously discredited Giaka.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
"Presidential elections allow political entrepreneurs to bypass weak or discredited parties and construct a direct relationship with voters," she said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026
These measures, enacted by more than half the states, shielded children from a discredited and abusive practice that fails to achieve its aims while inflicting serious, lasting psychological harms.
From Slate ● Mar. 31, 2026
In response, the state said its law “safeguards public health” by prohibiting “a discredited practice” that was shown to be harmful.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 31, 2026
The agreement infuriated Chief Buthelezi, who severed relations with the NP and formed an alliance with a group of discredited homeland leaders and white right-wing parties solely concerned with obtaining an Afrikaner homeland.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Instagram, TikTok and Reddit boards are filled with roughly 1,000 comments regarding the Yerord Mas “ragequit” debate, some discrediting the restaurant and others the influencer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
“Lavagna helped Milei and Caputo for two years by delaying the change, paying the price of discrediting both himself and the institute,” Exquanti said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 2026
He accused Ms Bezuhla of discrediting military leadership and said the time would come for an apology.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2024
And this is why discrediting whistleblowers works so well.
From Salon ● Jun. 20, 2024
“A guy who was really good at discrediting his opponent.”
From "The Benefits of Being an Octopus" by Ann Braden
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.
