“Disparagement (noun): The expression of low opinion; regarding or portraying unfavorably so as to lower in esteem; discredit or belittlement of one’s dignity. Adjective: disparaging; adverb: disparagingly; verb: disparage.
‘Some years ago Edna Ferber worte a book about a very tiny group of very rich Texans. Her description was accurate, so far as my knowledge extends, but her emphasis was one of disparagement.’ John Steinbeck, Travels with Charly”
Excerpted from: Grambs, David. The Random House Dictionary for Writers and Readers. New York: Random House, 1990.
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