MEANING
To damage confidence in a person, claim, or source.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- discredit a witness
- discredit a theory
On the page
The forged dates discredited the witness's account.
Nearby words
Word forms
- Base
- discredit
- Past tense
- discredited
- Past participle
- discredited
- Present participle
- discrediting
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- discredit
- Present continuous
- am/is/are discrediting
- Present perfect
- have/has discredited
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been discrediting
- Past
- discredited
- Past continuous
- was/were discrediting
- Past perfect
- had discredited
- Past perfect continuous
- had been discrediting
- Future
- will discredit
- Future continuous
- will be discrediting
- Future perfect
- will have discredited
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been discrediting
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: academic / formal. Forms: discredit; discredits; discredited; discredited; discrediting 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: evaluation, causation. Commonness: moderately common. Third-person singular: discredits.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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