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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in refuting
to prove to be false
the pseudoscience of phrenology has been thoroughly discredited
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of discrediting
Further discrediting itself, Thursday’s writeup includes a marketing pitch for the SquareX platform.
—
Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 28 Aug. 2025
Wolfenbarger’s defense attorneys began to focus on discrediting Norma as a witness after prosecutors relied on her testimony to show the jury that her daughter Melissa had allegedly suffered abuse at the hands of her husband before her 1998 disappearance, according to WSB-TV.
—Sean Neumann, People.com, 21 Aug. 2025
Right-wing Channel 14 has devoted coverage in recent weeks to discrediting some reports of starving children.
—Emily Rose, USA Today, 12 Aug. 2025
In the early 2000s, the program ruled against more than 5,000 claims from families who said vaccines led to their children’s autism, citing hundreds of scientific studies discrediting the link.
—Matthew Perrone, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2025
That’s because every time a Chinese company has the temerity to succeed stateside, protectionist impulses within the political and administrative classes get to work on discrediting the company with charges of – yes – espionage.
—John Tamny, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2025
Poor data quality can provide wrong models and alerts, discrediting predictive monitoring.
—Hrushikesh Deshmukh, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2025
Find a paper in a journal that says as much and, more important, ignore the countless other articles discrediting the same idea.
—Adam Marcus, The Atlantic, 13 Feb. 2025
Almost all of them were accused by Republicans of discrediting reports critical of Hunter Biden.
—Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA TODAY, 29 Jan. 2025
Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 28 Aug. 2025
Wolfenbarger’s defense attorneys began to focus on discrediting Norma as a witness after prosecutors relied on her testimony to show the jury that her daughter Melissa had allegedly suffered abuse at the hands of her husband before her 1998 disappearance, according to WSB-TV.
—Sean Neumann, People.com, 21 Aug. 2025
Right-wing Channel 14 has devoted coverage in recent weeks to discrediting some reports of starving children.
—Emily Rose, USA Today, 12 Aug. 2025
In the early 2000s, the program ruled against more than 5,000 claims from families who said vaccines led to their children’s autism, citing hundreds of scientific studies discrediting the link.
—Matthew Perrone, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2025
That’s because every time a Chinese company has the temerity to succeed stateside, protectionist impulses within the political and administrative classes get to work on discrediting the company with charges of – yes – espionage.
—John Tamny, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2025
Poor data quality can provide wrong models and alerts, discrediting predictive monitoring.
—Hrushikesh Deshmukh, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2025
Find a paper in a journal that says as much and, more important, ignore the countless other articles discrediting the same idea.
—Adam Marcus, The Atlantic, 13 Feb. 2025
Almost all of them were accused by Republicans of discrediting reports critical of Hunter Biden.
—Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA TODAY, 29 Jan. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for discrediting
Verb
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This announcement, humiliating the involved member, is harmful.—
Kelly G. Richardson,
Oc Register,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
That’s until their cover in California Schemin’ as rapping imposters was blown and the emotional strain of denying their Scottishness and their fractured friendship revealed itself.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Sep. 2025
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At the time, a source told PEOPLE that Teefey and Gomez, Wondermind's chief impact officer, both stepped in to take action for their employees, while denying that Teefey took out a loan to pay salaries.—
Marina Watts,
PEOPLE,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Instead, the Department of Justice (DOJ) last month released an unsigned memo refuting all of the most damning theories surrounding the case.—
Emily Brooks,
The Hill,
14 Aug. 2025
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Hall ended up refuting his own hypothesis.—
Dhruv Khullar,
The New Yorker,
6 Jan. 2025
Verb
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If that wasn’t embarrassing enough, then came an ugly post-game brawl that has gone viral on social media all over the world.—
Michelle Kaufman,
Miami Herald,
3 Sep. 2025
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Taking just the bare stats into consideration, Rooney's managerial career has been defined by a horrendously low win rate, but that is in addition to a spate of embarrassing off-field antics.—
Zak Garner-Purkis,
Forbes.com,
30 Aug. 2025
Verb
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While that was neat, ports on the flanks of the laptop are simply more accessible than those on the back, negating the need for helpful icons in the first place.—
Matthew Buzzi,
PC Magazine,
3 Sep. 2025
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Evidence has been mounting against alcohol consumption because of its health risks, negating a decades-long perception that some moderate drinking could be beneficial to health.—
Jeffrey Kopp,
CNN Money,
15 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Ranting on LinkedIn and bad-mouthing your ex-employer or naming and shaming your last negative recruitment experience won’t help you either.—
Rachel Wells,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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The grim reality is that the ADL’s work has never really been rooted in tolerance, unity, and compassion, but rather in shaming and intimidating educators and activists.—
Sahar Mustafah
August 27,
Literary Hub,
27 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Discrediting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/discrediting. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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