disparagement.

Speech or treatment that diminishes someone's worth or achievement.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• casual disparagement
• disparagement of work

On the page

The review crosses from criticism into disparagement.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: Usually uncountable; no ordinary plural in this sense. 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: character, atmosphere, interpretation. Commonness: moderately common.