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Webster 1913 Edition


Detract

De-tract′

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Detracted
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Detracting
.]
[L.
detractus
, p. p. of
detrahere
to detract;
de
+
trahere
to draw: cf. F.
détracter
. See
Trace
.]
1.
To take away; to withdraw.
Detract
much from the view of the without.
Sir H. Wotton.
2.
To take credit or reputation from; to defame.
Syn. – To derogate; decry; disparage; depreciate; asperse; vilify; defame; traduce. See
Decry
.

De-tract′

,
Verb.
I.
To take away a part or something, especially from one’s credit; to lessen reputation; to derogate; to defame; – often with from.
It has been the fashion to
detract
both from the moral and literary character of Cicero.
V. Knox.

Webster 1828 Edition


Detract

DETRACT

,
Verb.
T.
[L., to draw. See Draw and Drag.]
1.
Literally, to draw from. Hence, to take away from reputation or merit, through envy, malice or other motive; hence, to detract from, is to lessen or depreciate reputation or worth; to derogate from.
Never circulate reports that detract from the reputation or honor of your neighbor, without obvious necessity to justify the act.
2.
To take away; to withdraw, in a literal sense.

Definition 2024


detract

detract

English

Verb

detract (third-person singular simple present detracts, present participle detracting, simple past and past participle detracted)

  1. (intransitive) To take away; to withdraw or remove.
    • 2012 May 27, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “New Kid On The Block” (season 4, episode 8; originally aired 11/12/1992)”, in The Onion AV Club:
      The Conan O’Brien-penned half-hour has the capacity to rip our collective hearts out the way the cute, funny bad girl next door does to Bart when she reveals that her new boyfriend is Jimbo Jones, but the show keeps shying away from genuine emotion in favor of jokes that, while overwhelmingly funny, detract from the poignancy and the emotional intimacy of the episode.
  2. (transitive) To take credit or reputation from; to defame or decry.
    • Drayton
      That calumnious critic [] / Detracting what laboriously we do.

Synonyms

  • (to take credit or reputation from; to defame or decry): defame, decry
  • See also Wikisaurus:defame

Derived terms

Translations