Synonyms of discrediting

discrediting

verb

present participle of discredit

1

as in humiliating

to reduce to a lower standing in one's own eyes or in others' eyes

attempted to discredit her political opponents by deliberately spreading false rumors

Synonyms & Similar Words

• humiliating
• embarrassing
• disgracing
• shaming
• degrading
• insulting
• dishonoring
• debasing
• confusing
• humbling
• demeaning
• cheapening
• criticizing
• rattling
• lowering
• abasing
• ridiculing
• diminishing
• fouling
• chastening
• taking down
• minimizing
• belittling
• disparaging
• sinking
• detracting
• smirching
• discounting
• slandering
• maligning
• condemning
• disconcerting
• defaming
• mortifying
• decrying
• libeling
• libelling
• discountenancing
• castigating
• confounding
• depreciating
• discomfiting
• flustering
• denouncing
• defiling
• fazing
• nonplusing
• crying down
• bad-mouthing
• nonplussing
• affronting
• damning
• abashing
• censuring
• writing off
• execrating
• putting down
• reprobating
• reprehending

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• elevating
• exalting
• praising
• citing
• aggrandizing
• recognizing
• commending
• deifying
• celebrating
• honoring
• congratulating
• canonizing
• complimenting
• applauding
• acknowledging
• cheering
• lauding
• extolling
• boasting
• touting
• hailing
• saluting
• acclaiming
• eulogizing
• decorating
• highlighting
• promoting
• advancing
• glorifying
• spotlighting
• dignifying
• magnifying
• lifting
• raising
• boosting
• feting
• enthroning
• upgrading
• ennobling
• enshrining
• uplifting
• playing up
• fêting
• idealizing
• romanticizing
• enskying

2

as in denying

to think not to be true or real

I discredit the story that the old inn is haunted

Synonyms & Similar Words

• denying
• disbelieving
• negating
• doubting
• refuting
• disproving
• rejecting
• distrusting
• mistrusting
• suspecting
• debunking
• deriding
• repudiating
• pooh-poohing
• scoffing (at)
• poohing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• believing
• accepting
• swallowing
• crediting
• trusting

3

as in refuting

to prove to be false

the pseudoscience of phrenology has been thoroughly discredited

Synonyms & Similar Words

• refuting
• overturning
• disproving
• rebutting
• challenging
• falsifying
• debunking
• discussing
• confuting
• confounding
• questioning
• disconfirming
• belying
• contesting
• overthrowing
• shooting down
• doubting
• debating
• giving the lie to
• mistrusting
• querying
• talking over
• hashing (over)
• mooting

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• establishing
• proving
• confirming
• verifying
• validating
• supporting
• showing
• documenting
• recording
• evidencing
• witnessing
• identifying
• corroborating
• backing (up)
• certifying
• substantiating
• demonstrating
• evincing
• attesting
• displaying
• illustrating
• manifesting
• buttressing
• authenticating
• adducing

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of discrediting

Many of the conspiracy theories have prompted FEMA to create a page on its site discrediting rumors and false information about its response to Hurricane Helene. —Nicole Sganga, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2024

Still, the United States didn’t recognize Haiti as a nation until 1862, during the Civil War, when American leadership was looking for any support in discrediting slavery. —Chadd Scott, Forbes, 10 Oct. 2024