detractive

adjective

Definition of detractivenext
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

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for detractive
  1. insulting
  2. contemptuous
  3. critical
  4. malicious
  5. disparaging
  6. disdainful
  7. degrading
  8. pejorative
Adjective
  • Arizona State football fans slam 'truly insulting' College Football Playoff graphic Winter swoon: December has not been kind to Phoenix Suns in recent years The vehicle backed out of the driveway and into the road.
    Olivia Rose, The Arizona Republic, 13 Dec. 2024
  • The dawning of his second term has invoked jubilation from those who welcome Trump back to the Oval Office and fear from those alarmed by his insulting rhetoric about political opponents, the media, migrants and others.
    Alexandria Burris, The Indianapolis Star, 14 Nov. 2024
Definition of insulting
Adjective
  • Evie, who has recently married another woman, is contemptuous of a religion that doesn’t hold space for her identity.
    Alex Jhamb Burns, Vogue, 16 Dec. 2024
  • Reporters circle, looking for a chance to embarrass the military for accepting Black women into its ranks, while male colleagues are openly disrespectful, with Gen. Halt (Dean Norris) setting a contemptuous example from the top.
    Peter Debruge, Variety, 6 Dec. 2024
Definition of contemptuous
Adjective
  • Yet Friday’s performance wasn’t as spectacular as wins against LSU or Ole Miss, didn’t quite provide a surge of momentum entering a critical offseason or quell questions about Napier’s need to hire an offensive coordinator.
    Edgar Thompson, Orlando Sentinel, 21 Dec. 2024
  • Employees who are classified as essential for critical operations in defense, energy, agriculture and other sectors would continue to work without pay.
    Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 21 Dec. 2024
Definition of critical
Adjective
  • The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have antivirus software installed on all your devices.
    Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy Report, Fox News, 24 Dec. 2024
  • In sum, there are established means for a targeted individual to seek their own retribution against malicious acts by a government official who is without legal merit out to seek retribution.
    Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 24 Dec. 2024
Definition of malicious
Adjective
  • 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
  • Prior to appearing on Cunningham's show on Monday, Huggins made more disparaging remarks about Xavier.
    Emily DeLetter, The Enquirer, 10 May 2023
Definition of disparaging
Adjective
  • The Falcons were equally disdainful of Ridder with Monday night’s game plan.
    Vic Tafur, The Athletic, 17 Dec. 2024
  • Just days before the Nov. 5 general election, at a time when both campaigns are fighting for voters’ attention, Biden’s remark has given the Trump campaign fodder to portray Biden and the Democrats as divisive or disdainful of Trump’s base of supporters.
    Shawn Raymundo, The Arizona Republic, 1 Nov. 2024
Definition of disdainful
Adjective
  • 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
  • Read: ‘Shallow Hal’ and the never-ending fat joke Among Lost’s most degrading tropes was Hurley’s obsession with junk food.
    Rebecca Bodenheimer, The Atlantic, 30 Sep. 2024
Definition of degrading
Adjective
  • 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
  • The editors are panicking, using pejorative terms like dictator, wife-cheater, election-denier and cult leader in describing Donald Trump.
    Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 18 May 2024
Definition of pejorative
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Thesaurus Entries Near detractive

detractions

detractive

detractor

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Cite this Entry

“Detractive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detractive. Accessed 31 Dec. 2024.

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