denigratory

8.9

Giving unfair critical comments that make someone seem worse

adjective
/ˈdɛnɪɡrəˌtɔri/

Offensive

: denigratorio

His denigratory remarks about her work made her feel undervalued and disrespected.

Examples

He had always been denigratory toward her, both in her presence and whenever he spoke of her during her absence.

Blog text (32)
Whether Picasso's intention in giving caricatured African masks to these prostitutes was consciously denigratory or not is a moot point.

Academic text (1994)
The denigratory comments in the article led to public outrage against the author.
She found his denigratory attitude toward her ideas to be very discouraging.

Synonyms

derogatory

vsdenigratory

39 6.9

Expressing an insulting, disrespectful view of someone or something

adds an element of unfair maligning beyond simple disrespect

reproachful

vsdenigratory

2 6.5

Showing disapproval in voice or look

is more about unfairly discrediting character rather than blaming actions

censorious

vsdenigratory

Formal

2 9.3

Often criticizes people harshly for their actions or choices

is more about unfair maligning rather than broad harsh faultfinding

disparaging

vsdenigratory

Offensive

1 7.0

Showing a low opinion of someone or something

leans more toward unfairly discrediting rather than simple disrespect

denigrating

vsdenigratory

7.7

Harming someone's reputation by saying unfair or untrue things

is broader, applying to comments, attitudes, and statements

denigrative

vsdenigratory

Offensive

9.3

Saying things to make someone look bad, often unfair or untrue

covers such attacks but also general disparaging attitudes

derogative

vsdenigratory

8.1

Showing a bad opinion of someone to make them seem less important

focuses more on unfairly discrediting rather than mere low opinion

dislogistic

vsdenigratory

Formal

9.9

Showing disapproval by insulting or criticizing someone

is stronger, implying unfair attempts to damage reputation

belittling

vsdenigratory

6.2

Showing that someone or something has little value

tends to go further, aiming to damage reputation unfairly

Antonyms

complimentary

18 4.2

Saying good things about someone to show you admire them

How Disparaging

malicious

89 5.8

denigratory

Offensive

8.9

derogatory

39 6.9

disparaging

Offensive

1 7.0

critical

210 3.8

Surface Forms

denigratory positive

Morphology

denigratory = denigrate (transparent) = denigrate + ory

Formed by adding the adjective-forming suffix '-ory' to the verb 'denigrate', meaning 'tending to denigrate' is directly derived.

Etymology

Denigratory comes from Latin parts de- meaning 'completely' and niger meaning 'black', so it originally meant 'to make black' or 'blacken' someone's name. That's why a denigratory comment tries to damage someone's reputation.