disparage
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
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to speak contemptuously of; belittle
-
to damage the reputation of
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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disparagementnoun
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disparagernoun
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disparagingadjective
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undisparagedadjective
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disparaginglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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disparagesimple
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disparagessimple
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have disparagedperfect
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has disparagedperfect
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am disparagingprogressive
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are disparagingprogressive
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is disparagingprogressive
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have been disparagingperfect progressive
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has been disparagingperfect progressive
Past
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disparagedsimple
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had disparagedperfect
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was disparagingprogressive
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were disparagingprogressive
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had been disparagingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of disparage
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Anglo-French, Old French desparag(i)er “to match unequally,” from des- dis- 1 + -parag(i)er, verb derivative of parage “equal rank,” also “high birth, noble descent” ( see peerage)
Explanation
If you haven't got anything nice to say, then it's time to disparage someone. It means to belittle or degrade a person or idea. Disparage is a specific way to describe a certain kind of insult, the kind that secures the insulter's place as superior. It often refers to an opinion or criticism lobbed in print or via word of mouth, not necessarily an act done to someone's face. If someone or something is being disparaged, you will often find a competing interest in the wings.
Vocabulary lists containing disparage
The Bill of Rights
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Grade 11, List 2
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All About That Baseless: Bad-Faith Accusations
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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:
He called upon people to love their enemies, not rebuke them or disparage their existence.
From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2026
“At no point in time did I mean, or was it my intent, to disparage a jury,” Connolly said.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
“I took all of his commentary to be very, very careful not to disparage any person on the court or elsewhere,” she said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 18, 2026
Spielberg, for his part, was careful not to disparage streaming.
From Barron's ● Mar. 14, 2026
But before you disparage it, you have to taste just how hungry these kids are to escape the lower end of the middle class and move up.
From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman
He also ordered administrators to remove any content that “inappropriately disparages Americans” living or dead, and replace it with language that celebrates the nation’s greatness.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 14, 2026
Warsh regularly disparages such models and the “economics guild” that developed them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 31, 2026
I would like to point out that the 18th-century world Messinger so disparages also gave us the freedom of religion, freedom of speech and freedom of the press.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 22, 2023
He disparages the idea that we have fundamental rights that are basic to bodily integrity, human dignity, and equal citizenship, simply because they are not mentioned in the text.
From Slate ● May 18, 2022
He feels tenderness toward her when she disparages herself this way.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
And at a White House cage fight, a former first lady was brazenly disparaged.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Other research has been disparaged for not using proper quality-control measures.
From Barron's ● Jan. 27, 2026
Many in older generations disparaged them as vanities, rather than embracing them as medicine.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2025
ANL's lawyers have staunchly denied the allegations, previously calling the case "without foundation" and an "affront" to hard-working journalists whose reputations had been disparaged.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2025
Openly, Bobby disparaged how he’d performed, but the Soviet chess establishment was dazzled by how he managed to place so high under such arduous conditions.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Through public-records requests, residents obtained internal messages from city officials that many in Festus find disparaging, including one referring to data-center opponents as a “sideshow of uneducated people.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 2026
She once received a refund after a flight attendant made a disparaging remark about how she was dressed.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 10, 2026
A "Japan glazer" is "someone who puts everything that comes from Japan on a pedestal, while disparaging things that come from their own country", Louzembi said.
From Barron's ● Mar. 24, 2026
A spokesperson for Flynn responded to detailed questions from ProPublica by disparaging experts who expressed concerns, texting, “LOL ‘EXPERTS.’”
From Salon ● Mar. 3, 2026
Her eminent companions on the 1994 attempt said nothing disparaging about Pittman, at least not in public.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
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.
