denigration

The act of making black; a blackening or defamation.

Noun

  1. The act of making black; a blackening or defamation.
  2. An unfair criticism.
    • To nostalgic eyes they became absolutely and almost mercifully unrecognisable. Nor did they escape a full measure of denigration. - 1952 January, Henry Maxwell, “Farewell to the "T14s"”, in Railway Magazine, page 57:

Origin

By surface analysis, denigrate + -ion.

Forms

denigrations

Related

denigrate self-denigration belittlement disparagement