How to use denigrate in a sentence

11 example sentences · verb, adjective

Denigrate means to criticize so as to besmirch; traduce, disparage or defame. Example: “You have no right to denigrate people and things that you have no personal experience with.”

Examples of denigrate by meaning

verbTo criticize so as to besmirch; traduce, disparage or defame.

Yet I have noticed a disposition on the part of quite a diversity of present-day commentators to denigrate those engines.1960 May, O. S. Nock, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 343
Although in public Soviet officials tend to denigrate the French electric locomotives imported recently, there is little doubt that lessons learnt from these engines will be incorporated in new Russian designs.1963 January, “Beyond the Channel: U.S.S.R.”, in Modern Railways, page 62

verbTo treat as worthless; belittle, degrade or disparage.

You have no right to denigrate people and things that you have no personal experience with.

More sentences with denigrate

She favoritizes while she undermines, demeans and denigrates you.2020, Darlene Krug, Damaged Goods, page 4. From the entry favoritize
To speak of a "final solution" or a "homocaust" for homosexuals is an absurdity that denigrates the homosexual cause.2006, Florence Tamagne, A history of homosexuality in Europe: Berlin, London, Paris, 1919-1939, Algora Publishing, →ISBN, page 397. From the entry homocaust
However, in stark contrast with the lactification principle so denigrated by Fanon, she decides to abort and come home.1995, Lillian S. Robinson, Modern women writers, volume 3, page 66. From the entry lactification
As loudmouthed lovermen, these Lil Jon-endorsed ATLiens denigrate women from the window to the wall, generously offering to "make nut come out your nose."2005 July, “Breakdown”, in Spin, page 104. From the entry loverman
The people of this period, in a kind of adolescent spirit of rebellion, tended to denigrate their “parent age” as old-fashioned, primitive, and embarrassing.1991, Norman A. Bert, Theatre Alive!: An Introductory Anthology of World Drama, page 73. From the entry antimedieval
In one sense, the tragic mulatto heroine is baboon—babooness, if you will—since she has to deny, or at least denigrate, her Blackness in order to be tragic.2020, Clifford Mason, Macbeth in Harlem: Black Theater in America from the Beginning to Raisin in the Sun, New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers…. From the entry blackness
Or about re-encountering and understanding afresh the profound relevance of Illich's insights at the grassroots, in the pluriverse of millions of peoples decried and denigrated as "uneducated" and "illiterate"?2002, Lee Hoinacki, Carl Mitcham, The Challenges of Ivan Illich: A Collective Reflection, →ISBN, page 141. From the entry pluriverse
Gender bending by men is not only derogated by heterosexuals; LGBs also denigrate gender violations by men, often in the name of presenting an acceptable face to the heterosexual world.1999, Janis S. Bohan, Glenda M. Russell, Conversations about Psychology and Sexual Orientation, →ISBN, page 103. From the entry gender baiting

Meaning of denigrate

verb To criticize so as to besmirch; traduce, disparage or defame.
verb To treat as worthless; belittle, degrade or disparage.
verb To blacken.

Full definition of denigrate

Questions about denigrate in a sentence

How do you use denigrate in a sentence?: Denigrate is used as a verb and adjective. For example: “You have no right to denigrate people and things that you have no personal experience with.”
What is a short sentence with denigrate?: “She favoritizes while she undermines, demeans and denigrates you.”
What does denigrate mean?: Denigrate means to criticize so as to besmirch; traduce, disparage or defame.

Adapted from Wiktionary: denigrate (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use denigrate in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/denigrate. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.