as in insulting
intended to make a person or thing seem of little importance or value
fans made a steady stream of derogatory remarks about the players on the visiting team
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Recent Examples of derogatory
Harassment, violence and derogatory rhetoric targeting Jewish people have risen in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel and the war since.
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Sam Woodward, USA TODAY, 6 Dec. 2024
Though the term began with derogatory origins, it has since been reclaimed, with many female BL fans both in Japan and around the world self-identifying as fujoshi.
—James Factora, Them, 19 Dec. 2024
In a video posted Thursday on the social platform X, Mace referred to the protesters by using an offensive and derogatory slur for transgender people and read the Miranda rule into a bullhorn outside the Capitol Police Department.
—Brooke Migdon, The Hill, 5 Dec. 2024
All 15 students were arrested last month for allegedly punching, kicking, spitting on and calling a man derogatory names after luring him into an off-campus apartment on Oct. 15 under false pretenses, according to Salisbury police.
—Nicole Acevedo, NBC News, 8 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for derogatory 
Sam Woodward, USA TODAY, 6 Dec. 2024
Though the term began with derogatory origins, it has since been reclaimed, with many female BL fans both in Japan and around the world self-identifying as fujoshi.
—James Factora, Them, 19 Dec. 2024
In a video posted Thursday on the social platform X, Mace referred to the protesters by using an offensive and derogatory slur for transgender people and read the Miranda rule into a bullhorn outside the Capitol Police Department.
—Brooke Migdon, The Hill, 5 Dec. 2024
All 15 students were arrested last month for allegedly punching, kicking, spitting on and calling a man derogatory names after luring him into an off-campus apartment on Oct. 15 under false pretenses, according to Salisbury police.
—Nicole Acevedo, NBC News, 8 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for derogatory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for derogatory
Adjective
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This disastrous budget is even more insulting as Los Angeles County grapples with the devastation from four major fires.Bill Essayli, Orange County Register, 11 Jan. 2025
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Hinchcliffe, who is not Puerto Rican, was just plain cruel, insulting and dehumanizing.David Plazas, The Tennessean, 29 Oct. 2024
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
Adjective
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Many of the jobs available to young and inexperienced workers are entry-level roles in the retail, restaurant and service industries, and these jobs are often talked about in a demeaning way.Brandon Busteed, Forbes, 14 Dec. 2024
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Residents suddenly realized that Trump’s demeaning rhetoric about Haitian and Venezuelan immigrants could extend to them.Julia Preston, The New Yorker, 30 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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While conceding that standard phishing methods, those that typically require threat actors to craft malicious emails that are delivered to a wide audience, are relatively easy for email platforms to detect and block, that’s not the case with this phishless attack.Davey Winder, Forbes, 11 Jan. 2025
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Alec Baldwin sues New Mexico, claiming malicious prosecution.Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 10 Jan. 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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Though the pollen gunk will pass, he's concerned by a contingent of Twitter trolls who've shared uncomplimentary reviews of his recent North American tour.Jordan Runtagh, PEOPLE.com, 21 Jan. 2022
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Neither party admitted to liability and each agreed to refrain from making disparaging, negative or uncomplimentary statements about the other, the document said.Lorraine Mirabella, Baltimore Sun, 29 July 2022
Adjective
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That smell of vinegar is not just an alarm bell that these objects are destroying themselves but that the degrading polymer is taking down innocent bystanders as well.Sarah Everts, Scientific American, 1 Apr. 2016
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More than 2 million people in the U.S. lack indoor plumbing and more live with failing sewage systems that can result in waste backing up into homes or pooling on the ground, threatening public health and degrading basic dignity, the EPA said.San Diego Union-Tribune, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Feb. 2024
Adjective
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This subsided with unusual speed, however, as cricket fans took instead to sharing the self-deprecatory jokes coming over the border.The Economist, The Economist, 22 June 2019
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Philipps has acquired her 1-million-and-growing Instagram followers through her self-deprecatory humor, raw honesty and vulnerability.Sonja Haller, USA TODAY, 11 July 2018
Articles Related to derogatory
Thesaurus Entries Near derogatory
Cite this Entry
“Derogatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/derogatory. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.
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