də̇ˈkrī, dēˈ- transitive verb
Etymology: French décrier, from Old French descrier, from des- de- + crier to cry — more at cry
1. : to depreciate officially or publicly : reduce the value of especially by public condemnation
the king may at any time decry … any coin of the kingdom — William Blackstone
2. : to express strong disapproval of : criticize severely : denounce , disparage
citizens of the more advanced democracies … decry dictators and all their works — C.L.Jones
in making his case for pure research … he was not decrying applied research — Ritchie Calder
Synonyms:
decry , depreciate , disparage , derogate , derogate (from), detract (from), belittle , and minimize can mean, in common, to indicate one's low opinion of something. decry implies open condemnation with intent to discredit
restraint of emotion was now decried in favor of strong expression of feeling — Gilbert Highet
it would be a complete mistake to decry love of power altogether as a motive — Bertrand Russell
county editors vying with each other to defend their champions and decry their foes — American Guide Series: Maryland
depreciate implies a representing of something as of smaller value than it is usually credited with
the Renaissance … depreciated sculpture and gave the highest place to painting — Herbert Read
the fashion in some quarters during the last few years to depreciate the entire scientific outlook — P.W.Bridgman
disparage implies depreciation usually by more subtle methods, as slighting or invidious comparison
to disparage a train by comparing it with a stagecoach — G.B.Shaw
he would sigh, shake his head, disparage his importance to anybody, even to himself — Marguerite Young
the notion that Montaigne disparaged and sneered at the human race seems … absurd to us — L.P.Smith
derogate , often derogate (from), and detract (from) stress the idea of taking something away from the full or generally recognized quality of a person or thing, especially quality of merit or reputation
readers will inevitably … derogate what they cannot master — Edith R. Mirrielees
I am not “blaming” the extraterritorial, specifically eastern, archaeologists nor attempting to derogate their contributions to southwestern archaeology — W.W.Taylor
the right of the judiciary to review legislative and executive actions and nullify those measures which derogate from eternal principles of truth and justice as incarnated in the Constitution — J.P.Roche
his underhanded actions detract from his reputation for honesty
to say this in no way detracts from the distinguished qualities of the council itself — Report: (Canadian) Royal Commission on National Development
a number of apologetic reservations which detract from the force of those forthright statements — Gleb Struve
none of these moral imperfections appeared to detract an iota from the advantage of a face like an infant Aphrodite — Ellen Glasgow
belittle and minimize both imply depreciation, belittle suggesting an effort to make contemptibly small in worth, minimize to make as small as possible
Jack Dempsey was not one to underestimate. It was not his habit of mind to belittle an antagonist — Gene Tunney
always delighted at a pretext for belittling a distinguished contemporary — Edmund Wilson
I did not find anybody minimizing the tasks or inclined to exaggerate what had been done — E.P.Snow
an evident tendency on the part of the writers to enlarge on the blessings of nature and to minimize her deficiencies — R.H.Brown