Health & Fitness
SAT Vocab Tips: Root & Synonym Clusters 7 - To look Down On, aka “D” words
If you're a high school junior about to take the SAT, this post will help you with the vocab section. The words in this cluster appear frequently on the test, and are words we use when we "look down on" something.
This article was originally posted at collegeprepexpress.com on March 3, 2014.
In our Root & Synonym Clusters 5: Laud Roots and to Praise Synonyms, we encountered words we use when we look up to people. In this new installment we consider their antonyms, words we use to “look down on.” For some crazy reason, many of them begin with the letter “D,” which you can use to your advantage as a mnemonic. Do you know that word, mnemonic?
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decry - publicly denounce: they decried human rights abuses.
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denigrate - to speak damagingly of; criticize in a derogatory manner; sully; defame: to denigrate someone’s character
defame - to attack the good name or reputation of, as by uttering or publishing maliciously or falsely anything injurious; calumniate: The newspaper editorial defamed the politician.
deprecate - express disapproval of: he sniffed in a deprecating way.
disparage - regard or represent as being of little worth: he never missed an opportunity to disparage his competitors.
disdain - verb - to look upon or treat with contempt; despise; scorn. she remained standing, pointedly disdaining his invitation to sit down;noun - the feeling that someone or something is unworthy of one’s consideration or respect; contempt: her upper lip curled in disdain
deride (derisive/derision) - express contempt for; ridicule: critics derided the proposals as clumsy attempts to find a solution.
derogate (derogatory) - disparage (someone or something): it is typical of Pirandello to derogate the powers of reason.
denounce - declare to be wrong or evil: the Assembly denounced the use of violence | he was widely denounced asa traitor.
belittle - make (someone or something) seem unimportant: this is not to belittle his role | she felt belittled.
condemn - express complete disapproval of, typically in public; censure: fair-minded people declined to condemn her on mere suspicion.
impugn - dispute the truth, validity, or honesty of (a statement or motive); call into question: the father does not impugn her capacity as a good mother.
vilify (vilification) - speak or write about in an abusively disparaging manner: he has been vilified in the press.
anathema - something or someone that one vehemently dislikes: racial hatred was anathema to her.
imprecation - a spoken curse: she hurled her imprecations at anyone who might be listening.
