derogatory
/dɪˈɹɒɡətɹi/
More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations
British/dɪˈɹɔɡətɹɪj/
derogatory adjective: disparaging.
Adjective
derogatory (comparative more derogatory, superlative most derogatory)
- Disparaging.
- It was perfectly plain, that fast and far as scandal flies, Lady Anne's words, when derogatory to the Count, and that beloved wife, for whose sake they would have been most resented, had never reached their retreat in Devonshire, much less followed them to distant Italy.1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter XL, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 218
- Tending to derogate
- The Tories […] knew that […] the House which should be the first to come to a resolution would have a great advantage over the other. […] The Commons had determined that, on Monday the twenty-eighth of January, they would take into consideration the state of the nation. The Tory Lords therefore...1849, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter X, in The History of England from the Accession of James II, volume II, London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC, page 626
- Synonyms:
- injurious
- Reducing the power or value of (a governmental body, etc); detracting from.
- Acts of Parliament derogatory from the power of subsequent Parliaments bind not.1768, William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England
- Synonyms:
- injurious
- Lessening the worth of (a person, etc); expressing derogation; insulting.
- Billie Jean King said Friday that the Australian Open’s Margaret Court Arena should have its name changed because of Court’s derogatory comments about gay and transgender people.2018, Ben Rothenberg, The New York Times
- Synonyms:
- injurious
- Being or pertaining to a derogatory clause.
Noun
derogatory (plural derogatories)
- A tradeline on a credit report that indicates negative credit history.
derogatory meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
derogatory in Hindi
- tending to lessen the value of
- अपमानजनक apmānajnak
derogatory in Tamil
- இழுக்கான, சிறுமைப் படுத்துகிற, சிறுமைப்படுத்துகிற, தாழ்த்துகிற, தாழ்வாக, தரக்குறைவாக
derogatory in Urdu
- derogatory, meaning belonging to the lowest caste
- کمی kamī
derogatory in Bengali
- মর্যাদাহানিকর, অবমাননাকর
More languagesFewer languages
- derogatory in Malayalam
- വില കുറയ്ക്കുന്ന, ദോഷം വരുത്തുന്ന, ആക്ഷേപകരമായ, അപകീർത്തികരമായ
- derogatory in Kannada
- ಅವಮಾನಕರವಾದ, ಅವಹೇಳನಾತ್ಮಕ, ಅಲ್ಪೀಕರಿಸುವ, ಹೀನಾಯದ
- derogatory in Arabic
- حَقِير ḥaqīr, دَنِيء danīʔ
- derogatory in Indonesian
- menghina, yg menghina, bersifat merugikan orang lain
- derogatory in Persian
- تحقیرآمیز tahqir-âmiz
Examples of derogatory in a sentence
- Yet, a top leader’s use of derogatory casteist slurs was deeply offensive.
- I hope you enjoyed that list of foul and derogatory "slangonyms."
- Feedback is always given in an upbeat rather than a derogatory manner.
Synonyms of derogatory
Antonyms
Forms of derogatory
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more derogatory |
| superlative | most derogatory |
| Noun | |
| plural | derogatories |
Origin of derogatory
Borrowed from Late Latin dērogātōrius, from Latin dērogō; corresponding to derogate + -ory.
Words formed from derogatory
Phrases with derogatory
Questions about derogatory
- What does derogatory mean?
- Derogatory means disparaging.
- What is derogatory in Hindi?
- Derogatory in Hindi is अपमानजनक (apmānajnak). See Derogatory meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is derogatory?
- Derogatory can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce derogatory?
- Derogatory is pronounced /dɪˈɹɒɡətɹi/ (UK).
Words near derogatory in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: derogatory (page history and authors); derogatory (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); کمی (Urdu) (page history and authors); Derogatory (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); derogatory (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); derogatory (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-derogatory.wav.
Cite this entry: “derogatory.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/derogatory. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.