detraction

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“
There was none of that vulgar boastfulness and detraction which is to be met with in less educated society.

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Definitions (8)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. noun The act of detracting or taking away.
  2. noun A derogatory or damaging comment on a person's character or reputation; disparagement: The candidate responded sharply to the long list of detractions concocted by his opponent.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (3)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

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Examples (50)

  • I have myself no gratification in uttering detraction, and therefore none in hearing it Lady S. Oh fie, you are serious—'tis only a little harmless raillery Mar. —  Memoirs of the Life of the Rt. Hon. Richard Brinsley Sheridan V1
  • Not that I consider it a detraction, just an observation. —  Small Business Trends
  • The new characters fit perfectly within the established universe, although perhaps the only slight detraction is that there are far fewer double entendres than one normally expects from the two. —  Latest from PALGN
  • Gossiping and backbiting (detraction, or the revealing of another person's secret faults) is one of the most common of sins. —  About.com Catholicism
  • While we invoke St. Blaise for his protection against any physical ailment of the throat, we should also ask his protection against any spiritual ailment - profanity, cursing, unkind remarks, detraction or gossip. —  Catholic Exchange
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Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (1)

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from Middle English detraction, -tioun, -cioun, from Old French detraction, French détraction = Provencal detraccio, detractio = Spanish detraccion = Portuguese detracção = Italian detrazione, from Latin detractio(n-), a taking away, purging, Late Latin detraction, from detrahere, past participle detractus, take away, detract: see detract.
 

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/dəˈtrækʃən/
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