dep·re·cate (d p r -k t )tr.v. de·pre·cat·ed, de·pre·cat·ing, de·pre·cates 1. To express disapproval of; deplore. 2. To belittle; depreciate. 3. Computer Science To mark (a component of a software standard) as obsolete to warn against its use in the future so that it may be phased out. [Latin d  precr , dprect-, to ward off by prayer : d-, de- + precr, to pray; see prek- in Indo-European roots.]dep re·cating·ly adv.dep re·cation n.dep re·cator n.Usage Note: Deprecate originally meant "to pray in order to ward off something, ward off by prayer." Perhaps because the occasion of such prayers was invariably one of dread, the word developed the more general meaning of disapproval, as in this quotation from Frederick Douglass, "Those who profess to favor freedom, yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground." From here it was a small step to add the meaning "to make little of, disparage," what was once the proper meaning of depreciate. This meaning of depreciate appears to have been overwhelmed by the word's use in the world of finances, where it means "to diminish (or cause to diminish) in price or value." In similar fashion, the "disparage" sense of deprecate may be driving out the word's other uses. In our 2002 survey, only 50 percent of the Usage Panel accepted deprecate when it meant "to express disapproval of" in the sentence He advocates a well-designed program of behavior modification and deprecates the early use of medication to address behavioral problems. Moreover, a similar example in the same survey elicited the same split in opinions among Panelists: He acknowledged that some students had been wronged by the board's handling of the matter and deprecated the board's decision to intervene. It seems clear, then, that the Panel has very mixed feelings about the use of deprecate to mean "disapprove of." But a great majority of Panelists accept deprecate when used to mean "make little of, disparage." Fully 78 percent accepted the example He deprecated his own contribution to the success of the project, claiming that others had done just as much. It may be that the widespread use of the word in the compound adjective self-deprecating has helped bolster this use of the verb. |
deprecate [ˈdɛprɪˌkeɪt]
vb (tr)
1. to express disapproval of; protest against
2. to depreciate (a person, someone's character, etc.); belittle
3. Archaic to try to ward off by prayer
[from Latin dēprecārī to avert, ward off by entreaty, from de- + precārī to pray]
deprecating adj
deprecatingly adv
deprecation n
deprecative adj
deprecatively adv
deprecator n
Usage: Avoid confusion with depreciate
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Verb | 1. | deprecate - express strong disapproval of; deplore disapprove, reject - deem wrong or inappropriate; "I disapprove of her child rearing methods" |
| 2. | deprecate - belittle; "The teacher should not deprecate his student's efforts" |
deprecate
verb
1. disapprove of, condemn, object to, protest against, deplore, frown on, take exception to He deprecated this unseemly behaviour.
2. disparage, criticize, run down, discredit, scorn, deride, detract, malign, denigrate, belittle, vilify, depreciate, knock (informal), diss (slang, chiefly U.S.), bad-mouth (slang, chiefly U.S. & Canad.), lambast(e), flame (informal) They deprecate him and refer to him as 'a bit of a red'. see depreciate
Translations
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