Printer Friendly
The Free Dictionary
982,829,927 visitors served.
?
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

detract

   Also found in: Wikipedia 0.03 sec.
de·tract  (d-trkt)
v. de·tract·ed, de·tract·ing, de·tracts
v.tr.
1. To draw or take away; divert: They could detract little from so solid an argument.
2. Archaic To speak ill of; belittle.
v.intr.
To reduce the value, importance, or quality of something. Often used with from: testimony that only detracts from the strength of the plaintiff's case.

[Middle English detracten, from Latin dtrahere, dtract-, to remove : d-, de- + trahere, to pull. Sense 2, from Latin dtractre, frequentative of dtrahere, to take away.]

de·tractor n.

detract
Verb
detract from to make (something) seem less good, valuable, or impressive: I wouldn't want to detract from your triumph [Latin detrahere to pull away, disparage]
detractor n
detraction n
USAGE: Detract is sometimes wrongly used where distract is meant: a noise distracted (not detracted) my attention.
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Verb1.detract - take away a part from; diminish; "His bad manners detract from his good character"
cut down, reduce, trim back, trim down, cut, cut back, trim, bring down - cut down on; make a reduction in; "reduce your daily fat intake"; "The employer wants to cut back health benefits"
Translations
Spanish detract [dɪˈtrækt] vt to detract from → quitar mérito a, restar valor a
French detract [dɪˈtrækt] vt to detract from [+ quality, pleasure] → diminuer [+ reputation]; porter atteinte à
German detract [dɪˈtrækt] vi to detract from → schmälern;
(effect) → beeinträchtigen

Italian detract [dɪˈtrækt] vt to detract from → detrarre da

?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Email
Feedback
Add definition
? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.
She was growing a little stout, but it did not seem to detract an iota from the grace of every step, pose, gesture.
But they would have been improved by some share of his frankness and warmth; and her visit was long enough to detract something from their first admiration, by shewing that, though perfectly well-bred, she was reserved, cold, and had nothing to say for herself beyond the most common-place inquiry or remark.
 
Dictionary/thesaurus browser? ? Full browser
 
 
Dictionary, Thesaurus, and Translations
?

Disclaimer | Privacy policy | Feedback | Copyright © 2008 Farlex, Inc.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. Terms of Use.