List of 426 Sets of Synonyms - How they Differ - Total of 2307 Words - 105

SYNONYMS: decry, disparage, depreciate, derogate, belittle, minimize, downgrade.
These verbs mean to think, write, or speak of as being of little value or importance.

Decry implies open denunciation or condemnation: A staunch materialist, he decries economy.
Disparage often implies the communication of a low opinion by indirection: Some critics disparage psychoanalysis as being a pseudoscience.
To depreciate is to assign a lower than customary value to someone or something: Some musicologists depreciate Liszt's compositions.
Derogate implies a detraction that impairs: People often derogate what they don't understand.
Belittle and minimize mean to make less important, but minimize strongly implies the minimum level: belittled the child's attempts to draw; trying to minimize the accomplishment.
To downgrade is to minimize in importance or estimation: Her rival downgraded the painting, calling u superficial.