decry

decry
—decrier, n.
/di kruy"/, v.t., decried, decrying.
1. to speak disparagingly of; denounce as faulty or worthless; express censure of: She decried the lack of support for the arts in this country.
2. to condemn or depreciate by proclamation, as foreign or obsolete coins.
[1610-20; < F décrier, OF descrier. See DIS-1, CRY]
Syn. 1. belittle, disparage, discredit, depreciate, minimize. DECRY, DENIGRATE, DEPRECATE, DEROGATE all involve the expression of censure or disapproval. DECRY means to express one's vigorous disapproval of or to denounce: to decry all forms of discrimination. DENIGRATE means to speak damagingly of, to criticize in derogative terms: denigrating his works as trifling and poorly executed.
DEPRECATE implies the expression of earnest, thoughtful disapproval: to deprecate a plan because of possible environmental damage. DEROGATE means to speak in such a way as to decrease the status, high quality, or good reputation of someone or something, making the person or object seem of less value: Fear of change makes them derogate every proposal put forth.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Decry — De*cry , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Decried}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Decrying}.] [F. d[ e]crier, OF. descrier; pref. des (L. dis ) + crier to cry. See {Cry}, and cf. {Descry}.] To cry down; to censure as faulty, mean, or worthless; to clamor against; to… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • decry — decry, depreciate, disparage, derogate, detract, belittle, minimize mean to write, speak, or otherwise indicate one s feeling in regard to something in such a way as to reveal one s low opinion of it. Decry implies open or public condemnation or… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • decry — decry, descry are related in origin but now have widely different meanings. To decry something is to disparage or deplore it • (She decries the spread of tower blocks and the failure to turn derelict sites into green spaces Evening Standard,… …   Modern English usage

  • decry — [dē krī′] vt. decried, decrying [Fr décrier < OFr descrier: see DE & CRY] 1. to speak out against strongly and openly; denounce [to decry religious intolerance] 2. to depreciate (money, etc.) officially SYN. DISPARAGE decrial …   English World dictionary

  • decry — I verb admonish, be unable to respect, belittle, berate, bring discredit on, bring into disrepute, censure, censure as faulty, clamor against, condemn, condemn as worthless, contemn, criticize, cry down, cry out against, declaim against, degrade …   Law dictionary

  • decry — 1610s, from Fr. decrier (14c.; O.Fr. descrier cry out, announce ), from de down, out (see DE (Cf. de )) + crier to cry. In English, the sense has been colored by the presumption that de in this word means down …   Etymology dictionary

  • decry — [v] criticize, blame abuse, asperse, badmouth*, belittle, calumniate, censure, condemn, cry down, defame, denounce, depreciate, derogate, detract, devalue, diminish, discount, discredit, disgrace, disparage, do a number on*, downgrade, dump on*,… …   New thesaurus

  • decry — ► VERB (decries, decried) ▪ publicly denounce. DERIVATIVES decrier noun. ORIGIN originally in the sense «decrease the value of coins by royal proclamation»: from French décrier cry down …   English terms dictionary

  • decry — transitive verb Etymology: French décrier, from Old French decrier, from de + crier to cry Date: 1614 1. to depreciate (as a coin) officially or publicly 2. to express strong disapproval of < decry the …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • decry — de•cry [[t]dɪˈkraɪ[/t]] v. t. cried, cry•ing 1) to disparage openly 2) to depreciate by proclamation, as coins • Etymology: 1610–20; < F décrier, de•cri′al, n. de•cri′er, n. syn: decry, denigrate, deprecate involve the expression of censure or …   From formal English to slang

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