denigrate
den·i·grate/ˈdɛn.ɪ.ɡɹeɪ̯t/verb, adjective
denigrate is spelled D-E-N-I-G-R-A-T-E, 3 syllables: den·i·grate. The wrong spelling people search most is denegrate: about 150 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 10 of all searches for the word. Denigrate is a verb meaning “To criticize so as to besmirch; traduce, disparage or defame”.
How many letters and syllables are in denigrate?
| Letters | 9: D-E-N-I-G-R-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: den·i·grate |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 47,633rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, denegrate, about 150 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you spell denigrate?
Denigrate is spelled D-E-N-I-G-R-A-T-E. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 10 of the searches for denigrate in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is denigrate?
Denigrate appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 47,633rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce denigrate?
- US /ˈdɛn.ɪ.ɡɹeɪ̯t/
- US /ˈden.ɪ.ɡɹeɪ̯t/
- Australia /ˈden.ɪ.ɡɹæɪ̯t/
Denigrate has 3 syllables, split den·i·grate in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-denigrate.ogg, En-au-denigrate.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of denigrate
- denigrates present, singular, he/she/it
- denigrating participle, present
- denigrated participle, past
- more denigrate comparative
- most denigrate superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does denigrate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To criticize so as to besmirch; traduce, disparage or defame.
- 2
To treat as worthless; belittle, degrade or disparage.
You have no right to denigrate people and things that you have no personal experience with.
- 3
rareTo blacken.
adjective
- 1
Blackened.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Denigrate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | dénigrer, médire , rabaisser, déprécier , noircir |
| German | anschwärzen, verleumden, verunglimpfen, besudeln, in Verruf bringen |
| Portuguese | denegrir |
| Spanish | denigrar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does denigrate come from?
Derived from Latin dēnigrātus, the perfect passive participle of dēnigrō (“to blacken”) [see -ate (verb-forming suffix)], from dē- (“of; from”) + nigrō (“to blacken”) [from niger (“black”)]. Cognate with Middle English denigart(e) (“darkened, discolored”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).