v.
Pronunciation: ' de-pri- ˌ k ā t
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form: -cat · ed ; -cat · ing
Etymology: Latin deprecatus, past participle of deprecari to avert by prayer, from de- + precari to pray ― more at PRAY
Date: 1628
1 a archaic : to pray against (as an evil) b : to seek to avert < deprecate the wrath ⋯ of the Roman people ― Tobias Smollett>
2 : to express disapproval of
3 a : PLAY DOWN : make little of <speaks five languages ⋯ but deprecate s this facility ― Time > b : BELITTLE , DISPARAGE <the most reluctantly admired and least easily deprecated of ⋯ novelists ― New Yorker >
– dep · re · cat · ing · ly \ - ˌ k ā -ti ŋ -l ē \ adverb
– dep · re · ca · tion \ ˌ de-pri- ' k ā -sh ə n \ noun