as in slighting
intended to make a person or thing seem of little importance or value
used the detractive epithet "McJob" to describe what his feckless son-in-law did for work
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detractive
Adjective
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Even more difficult in the day-to-day is Donald Trump’s relentless and insulting commentary.—
Ken Dryden,
The Atlantic,
23 Feb. 2025 -
The incredibly insulting idea of canceling the name of the prolific U.S. Rep. Henry Hyde was bad enough.—
Naperville Sun,
Chicago Tribune,
21 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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The president was also profoundly contemptuous of women, kept his true opposition to female suffrage carefully hidden, and allowed the suffragists who silently held banners outside the White House to be repeatedly attacked by mobs, beaten, and jailed.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
25 Feb. 2025
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The arguments Republicans have made in their opposition to Joe Biden’s contemptuous pardons are pretty compelling.—
Noah Rothman,
National Review,
21 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Metamask Card Brings Crypto Natives Real World Utility The critical innovation now happening is connecting these stablecoins directly to everyday payment systems without sacrificing self-custody: a principle that separates crypto from traditional finance.—
Boaz Sobrado,
Forbes,
9 Mar. 2025
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Navigating healthy relationships can be challenging for both teens and parents, but caution and open communication are critical to prevent acts of violence.—
Julianna Bragg,
CNN,
8 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Now, Microsoft has identified a resurfaced malware that has returned after years, equipped with new malicious capabilities, including stealing sensitive information such as digital wallets and data from the legitimate Notes app.—
Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy Report,
Fox News,
27 Feb. 2025
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As the technology behind deepfakes advances, the need to fight their malicious usage has never been greater.—
Rohan Pinto,
Forbes,
27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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The 2023 Economic Report Of The President published in March of 2023 was relatively disparaging of cryptoassets and DLTs.—
Lawrence Wintermeyer,
Forbes,
5 Dec. 2024
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Prior to appearing on Cunningham's show on Monday, Huggins made more disparaging remarks about Xavier.—
Emily DeLetter,
The Enquirer,
10 May 2023
Adjective
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President-Elect Donald Trump is openly disdainful of many governments in Europe and seems willing to walk away from America’s role as the continent’s protector.—
Phillips Payson O’Brien,
The Atlantic,
13 Jan. 2025
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Now, the norms for AI will emerge in a political and cultural environment that's hostile to regulation and disdainful of limits.—
Scott Rosenberg,
Axios,
8 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Smoke can travel hundreds of miles, significantly degrading air quality and posing serious health risks, particularly for individuals with preexisting respiratory or other health conditions.—
Joel Thayer,
Newsweek,
27 Jan. 2025
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The first was in a degrading context: Brown University’s annual Spring Weekend, in 2013.—
Doreen St. Félix,
The New Yorker,
10 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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In conservative circles, the pejorative label stuck.—
Meg James,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Dec. 2024
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These asylum seekers came to be known as Vietnamese boat people, a name that has come to be regarded as pejorative — the sort of dehumanizing language often used in indexing immigrants.—
Brendan Quinn,
The Athletic,
1 July 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Detractive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detractive. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
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