as in defamation
the act of making a person or a thing seem little or unimportant
the unfair denigration of the social sciences by some people in the natural sciences
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Recent Examples of denigration
For me, this marks an early moment in the denigration of women.
—
Eana Kim, ARTnews.com, 27 Apr. 2026
Nowhere is there the vitriol or denigration found in MAGA gatherings.
—Chicago Tribune, 1 Apr. 2026
From the start, the denigration of the Iranian monarchy was at the center of the Islamic Republic’s official ideology.
—Azadeh Moaveni, New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2026
Trump is, of course, a man whose rise to power has been fueled by his denigration of people for being animal-like.
—Daniel Engber, The Atlantic, 22 Feb. 2026
The human costs of this are the increasing rates of illnesses and the financial costs of health care, lost productivity, and the compounding problems of further environmental denigration.
—Suwanna Gauntlett Upjohn, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
Eana Kim, ARTnews.com, 27 Apr. 2026
Nowhere is there the vitriol or denigration found in MAGA gatherings.
—Chicago Tribune, 1 Apr. 2026
From the start, the denigration of the Iranian monarchy was at the center of the Islamic Republic’s official ideology.
—Azadeh Moaveni, New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2026
Trump is, of course, a man whose rise to power has been fueled by his denigration of people for being animal-like.
—Daniel Engber, The Atlantic, 22 Feb. 2026
The human costs of this are the increasing rates of illnesses and the financial costs of health care, lost productivity, and the compounding problems of further environmental denigration.
—Suwanna Gauntlett Upjohn, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for denigration
Noun
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Alfie now faces four defamation lawsuits filed by Milei's close allies seeking millions in damages.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Maxwell denied the allegations and sued Giuffre for defamation.—
Julie K. Brown,
Miami Herald,
26 Apr. 2026
Noun
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His first collection, Death of a Naturalist, was published by Faber and Faber in 1966 and was followed by eleven other volumes of poetry, as well as collections of literary criticism, anthologies, translations, and verse plays.—
Nick Laird,
The New York Review of Books,
25 Apr. 2026
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With Minnesota viewing them as soft, the Nuggets hardly seem bothered by the criticism.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
25 Apr. 2026
Noun
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With a few notable exceptions, Leo kept his political remarks to the leaders largely diplomatic, using a language of encouragement and subtle messaging rather than headline-grabbing condemnations.—
NICOLE WINFIELD THE ASSOCIATED PRESS,
Arkansas Online,
24 Apr. 2026
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With a few notable exceptions, Leo kept his political remarks to the leaders largely diplomatic, using a language of encouragement and subtle messaging rather than headline-grabbing condemnations.—
Nicole Winfield,
Fortune,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The contract contained a non-disparagement clause, and in law, the special thing about disparagement is that unlike defamation, the truth is not a defense against disparagement.—
Marlow Stern,
Variety,
28 Apr. 2026
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And the Times Magazine suggested the idea of discovering a similar past disparagement clause to the one that plagued HBO might dissuade any network from tackling a future Jackson project.—
Steve Knopper,
Rolling Stone,
22 Apr. 2026
Noun
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But whether a potential second film would try to acknowledge the abuse allegations against Jackson, including those at the center of a 2005 trial that ended in his acquittal on all counts, is unclear.—
Brendan Morrow,
USA Today,
26 Apr. 2026
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Anyone with information on this case or other animal abuse cases is urged to contact the PSPCA's Cruelty Hotline at (866) 601-SPCA.—
Alexandra Simon,
CBS News,
26 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Apolline may embrace the social media aspects of her career but George’s belittlement rankles her.—
Peter Rainer,
Christian Science Monitor,
14 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Including hardware depreciation, labor, and overhead, the effective cost is about 200–250 yuan per hour in China, Gao said.—
Ni Tao,
Interesting Engineering,
20 Apr. 2026
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Leasing a new car is a great way to experience some of the best driving years of a vehicle without the depreciation and ownership issues that come with time.—
Charles Singh,
USA Today,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
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By then the Illinois-breds — the subject of so much ridicule and scorn when the race-a-day was introduced — had become a success story.—
Neil Milbert,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Apr. 2026
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Former Mayor Bill de Blasio similarly drew ridicule when he was caught using a knife and fork to eat pizza instead of grabbing the slice with his hands like any real New Yorker paisano would.—
Dave Goldiner,
New York Daily News,
17 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Denigration.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/denigration. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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