1
as in humiliating
to reduce to a lower standing in one's own eyes or in others' eyes
attempted to discredit her political opponents by deliberately spreading false rumors
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in denying
to think not to be true or real
I discredit the story that the old inn is haunted
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in refuting
to prove to be false
the pseudoscience of phrenology has been thoroughly discredited
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of discrediting
Further discrediting itself, Thursday’s writeup includes a marketing pitch for the SquareX platform.
—
Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 28 Aug. 2025
Wolfenbarger’s defense attorneys began to focus on discrediting Norma as a witness after prosecutors relied on her testimony to show the jury that her daughter Melissa had allegedly suffered abuse at the hands of her husband before her 1998 disappearance, according to WSB-TV.
—Sean Neumann, People.com, 21 Aug. 2025
Right-wing Channel 14 has devoted coverage in recent weeks to discrediting some reports of starving children.
—Emily Rose, USA Today, 12 Aug. 2025
In the early 2000s, the program ruled against more than 5,000 claims from families who said vaccines led to their children’s autism, citing hundreds of scientific studies discrediting the link.
—Matthew Perrone, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2025
That’s because every time a Chinese company has the temerity to succeed stateside, protectionist impulses within the political and administrative classes get to work on discrediting the company with charges of – yes – espionage.
—John Tamny, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2025
Poor data quality can provide wrong models and alerts, discrediting predictive monitoring.
—Hrushikesh Deshmukh, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2025
Find a paper in a journal that says as much and, more important, ignore the countless other articles discrediting the same idea.
—Adam Marcus, The Atlantic, 13 Feb. 2025
Almost all of them were accused by Republicans of discrediting reports critical of Hunter Biden.
—Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA TODAY, 29 Jan. 2025
Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 28 Aug. 2025
Wolfenbarger’s defense attorneys began to focus on discrediting Norma as a witness after prosecutors relied on her testimony to show the jury that her daughter Melissa had allegedly suffered abuse at the hands of her husband before her 1998 disappearance, according to WSB-TV.
—Sean Neumann, People.com, 21 Aug. 2025
Right-wing Channel 14 has devoted coverage in recent weeks to discrediting some reports of starving children.
—Emily Rose, USA Today, 12 Aug. 2025
In the early 2000s, the program ruled against more than 5,000 claims from families who said vaccines led to their children’s autism, citing hundreds of scientific studies discrediting the link.
—Matthew Perrone, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2025
That’s because every time a Chinese company has the temerity to succeed stateside, protectionist impulses within the political and administrative classes get to work on discrediting the company with charges of – yes – espionage.
—John Tamny, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2025
Poor data quality can provide wrong models and alerts, discrediting predictive monitoring.
—Hrushikesh Deshmukh, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2025
Find a paper in a journal that says as much and, more important, ignore the countless other articles discrediting the same idea.
—Adam Marcus, The Atlantic, 13 Feb. 2025
Almost all of them were accused by Republicans of discrediting reports critical of Hunter Biden.
—Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA TODAY, 29 Jan. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for discrediting
Verb
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This announcement, humiliating the involved member, is harmful.—
Kelly G. Richardson,
Oc Register,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
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But there’s no denying that this emerging dynamic gives billionaires and their space companies unprecedented power that could play out in exciting — and perhaps dangerous — ways.—
Jackie Wattles,
CNN Money,
12 Sep. 2025
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China is also ramping up its ability to target satellites, aimed at weakening or denying adversaries access to space, reported SCMP.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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On Friday, Swift’s lawyer stepped into the fray to set the record straight, refuting the claim that his client had agreed to answer questions under oath.—
Nancy Dillon,
Rolling Stone,
12 Sep. 2025
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Days after the hearing, the leader of the Pentagon's office to investigate UFOs provided testimony of his own refuting some of the claims.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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This still was a much stronger performance by the Fins than last week’s embarrassing 33-8 defeat in Indianapolis, but that was a low bar to leap.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
14 Sep. 2025
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The mother, being a mother, finds fault and has embarrassing politics.—
Nathaniel Moore
September 10,
Literary Hub,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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On the fourth drive, center Cam Jurgens was flagged for holding, negating a third-and-5 scramble by Hurts and leading to an eventual punt.—
Brooks Kubena,
New York Times,
15 Sep. 2025
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While that was neat, ports on the flanks of the laptop are simply more accessible than those on the back, negating the need for helpful icons in the first place.—
Matthew Buzzi,
PC Magazine,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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This isn’t about shaming those with access.—
Elle Wang,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
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The grim reality is that the ADL’s work has never really been rooted in tolerance, unity, and compassion, but rather in shaming and intimidating educators and activists.—
Sahar Mustafah
August 27,
Literary Hub,
27 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Discrediting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/discrediting. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.
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