Word of the Day
: April 22, 2018traduce
playWhat It Means
1 : to expose to shame or blame by means of falsehood and misrepresentation
traduce in Context
"Here, at last, was someone prepared publicly to speak up for the BBC when so many others were seeking to traduce and destroy it." — Jason Cowley, New Statesman, 19 Nov. 2012
"Some players' records reflect abilities enhanced by acts of bad character—surreptitious resorts to disreputable chemistry that traduces sportsmanship. But as younger writers who did not cover baseball during the PED era become Hall of Fame voters, the electorate is becoming less interested in disqualifying PED users." — George Will, The Washington Post, 22 Jan. 2017
Did You Know?
Traduce is one of a number of English synonyms that you can choose when you need a word that means "to injure by speaking ill of." Choose traduce when you want to stress the deep personal humiliation, disgrace, and distress felt by the victim. If someone doesn't actually lie, but makes statements that injure by specific and often subtle misrepresentations, malign may be the more precise choice. To make it clear that the speaker is malicious and the statements made are false, calumniate is a good option. But if you need to say that certain statements represent an attempt to destroy a reputation by open and direct abuse, vilify is the word you want.
