MEANING
To make something seem less valuable, effective, or impressive.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- detract from an argument
- detract from the achievement
On the page
The formatting errors detract from an otherwise persuasive report.
Nearby words
Word forms
- Base
- detract
- Past tense
- detracted
- Past participle
- detracted
- Present participle
- detracting
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- detract
- Present continuous
- am/is/are detracting
- Present perfect
- have/has detracted
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been detracting
- Past
- detracted
- Past continuous
- was/were detracting
- Past perfect
- had detracted
- Past perfect continuous
- had been detracting
- Future
- will detract
- Future continuous
- will be detracting
- Future perfect
- will have detracted
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been detracting
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: academic / formal. Forms: detract; detracts; detracted; detracted; detracting Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: analysis, explanation. Commonness: moderately common. Third-person singular: detracts.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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