disparage

[dih-spar-ij]

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verb (used with object), dis·par·aged, dis·par·ag·ing.

to speak of or treat slightingly; depreciate; belittle: Do not disparage good manners.

to bring reproach or discredit upon; lower the estimation of: Your behavior will disparage the whole family.

Origin of disparage

1250–1300; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French desparag(i)er to match unequally, equivalent to des- dis-¹ + -parag(i)er, derivative of parage equality, equivalent to par(er) to equalize (< Latin parāre; see peer¹) + -age -age

Related formsdis·par·ag·er, nounun·dis·par·aged, adjective

Synonyms for disparage

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1. ridicule, discredit, mock, demean, denounce, derogate.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for disparage

malign, dismiss, decry, ridicule, defame, denigrate, discredit, deride, belittle, scorn, vilify, underrate, slander, degrade, dispirit, undervalue, slam, rap, traduce, deject

Examples from the Web for disparage

Contemporary Examples of disparage

You have to be sexy, but remember that your sexuality can and will be used at any point in time to disparage you.
Let’s Put an End to ‘THOT’: The Misogynistic Phrase That’s Sweeping the Nation
Amanda Marcotte
June 23, 2014
Whether or not the team “intends” to disparage anyone, they are.
It’s Official: ‘Redskins’ Is Racist, but Will the Team or NFL Listen?
Robert Silverman
June 18, 2014
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
P.J. O’Rourke: Who Really Actually Wants This Bill of Rights?
P. J. O’Rourke
April 12, 2014
They disparage his trip to a Navy shipbuilder as a “road show.”
Behind John Boehner’s Bluster as He Shifts Blame for the Sequester
Eleanor Clift
February 27, 2013
I do NOT disparage the Asian community, but the fact is there r some bizs that can do better!
Washington D.C. ‘Mayor for Life’ Marion Barry’s Most Outrageous Lines
Caitlin Dickson
May 23, 2012

Historical Examples of disparage

Nothing is more unjust than to disparage one sex relatively to the other.
The Sexual Question
August Forel
It would have its work done, and be free to disparage those who have laboured for it.'
Gerald Fitzgerald
Charles James Lever
It may shun, deprecate, disparage, but it never despises them.
Davenport Dunn, Volume 2 (of 2)
Charles James Lever
I do not disparage one of her attractions, and she has scores of them.
Lord Kilgobbin
Charles Lever
She means to discredit my station, and disparage my influence; how shall I reply to her?
A Day's Ride
Charles James Lever

British Dictionary definitions for disparage

disparage

verb (tr)

to speak contemptuously of; belittle

to damage the reputation of

Derived Formsdisparagement, noundisparager, noundisparaging, adjectivedisparagingly, adverb

Word Origin for disparage

C14: from Old French desparagier, from des- dis- 1 + parage equality, from Latin par equal

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for disparage

early 14c., "degrade socially," from Old French desparagier (Modern French déparager) "reduce in rank, degrade, devalue, depreciate," originally "to marry unequally," and thus by extension the disgrace or dishonor involved in this, from des- "away" (see dis-) + parage "rank, lineage" (see peer (n.)). Sense of "belittle" first recorded 1530s. Related: Disparaged; disparaging; disparagingly.