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detract from

   Also found in: Legal, Idioms 0.06 sec.
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
detract from
verb
1. lessen, reduce, diminish, lower, take away from, derogate, devaluate Her faults did not seem to detract from her appeal.
lessen improve, boost, add to, strengthen, enhance, reinforce, complement, augment
2. divert, shift, distract, deflect, draw or lead away from They can only detract attention from the serious issues.
Usage: Detract is sometimes wrongly used where distract is meant: a noise distracted (not detracted) my attention.


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Your picture is so fine that my observation cannot detract from it, and, besides, it is only my personal opinion.
Anna Karenina by Tolstoy, Leo View in context
But, not to detract from a nation, to which, during my life, I shall acknowledge myself extremely obliged, it must be allowed, that whatever this famous tower wants in height, is amply made up in beauty and strength: for the walls are near a hundred feet thick, built of hewn stone, whereof each is about forty feet square, and adorned on all sides with statues of gods and emperors, cut in marble, larger than the life, placed in their several niches.
Gulliver's Travels by Swift, Jonathan View in context
Nor will it detract from the interest they will all feel when they learn that the man whom madame entertained is a Russian servant--her brother's valet, to be quite exact.
The Return of Tarzan by Burroughs, Edgar Rice View in context
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