denigrate
/ˈdɛn.ɪ.ɡɹeɪ̯t/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.59 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "What grand engines they were! Yet I have noticed a disposition on the part of quite a diversity of present-day commentators to denigrate those engines."
- "Although in public Soviet officials tend to denigrate the French electric locomotives imported recently, there is little doubt that lessons learnt from these engines will be incorporated in new Russian designs."
- "You have no right to denigrate people and things that you have no personal experience with."
Etymology
Derived from Latin dēnigrātus, the perfect passive participle of dēnigrō (“to blacken”) [see -ate (verb-forming suffix)], from dē- (“of; from”) + nigrō (“to blacken”) [from niger (“black”)]. Cognate with Middle English denigart(e) (“darkened, discolored”).
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: dēnigrātus
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈdɛn.ɪ.ɡɹeɪ̯t/
- British English: /ˈdɛn.ɪ.ɡɹeɪ̯t/
Usage
Inflected Forms
denigrates (present, singular)
denigrating (participle, present)
denigrated (participle, past)
denigrated (past)
more denigrate (comparative)
most denigrate (superlative)