Meaning & use
decry
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Meaning
verbtransitive
To say openly and forcefully that something is bad, wrong or harmful.
Grammar: Takes a direct object: decry the policy. Often used with as: decry it as unfair.
Patterns
- decry something
- decry something as something
Teachers decried the cuts to the arts budget.
Environmental groups decry the plan as reckless.
The editorial decries the lack of safe housing in the city.
Word forms
| third person singular | decries |
|---|---|
| past tense | decried |
| past participle | decried |
| -ing form | decrying |
Common combinations
- publicly decry
- The mayor publicly decried the violence.
- widely decried
- The decision was widely decried by health experts.
- decry the lack of
- Residents decry the lack of public transport.
- decry as unfair
- Union leaders decried the new contract as unfair.
- loudly decry
- Critics loudly decried the film's ending.
Synonyms and how they differ
- condemn
- Condemn is stronger and often suggests a firm moral judgment, while decry stresses speaking out against something in public.
- denounce
- Denounce implies a more formal and fierce attack, often naming someone as guilty, whereas decry can be milder.
- deplore
- Deplore expresses regret or distress about something, while decry is about voicing opposition to it.
- criticize
- Criticize is neutral and can be mild or detailed, while decry is a stronger, more public statement of disapproval.
Opposites
Word family
- decried adjective
- openly criticized, as in a widely decried policy
- decrial noun
- the act of decrying; a rare, formal word
- cry verb
- the plain word from which decry developed through French
Commonly confused: decry or descry?
decry vs descry
Descry means to catch sight of something far off, such as a ship on the horizon. It has nothing to do with criticism.
Practice
Parents gathered outside the school to ____ the decision to close the library.
Choose one answer.
Decry means to criticize publicly, which fits protesting parents. Descry means to catch sight of, so it is a tempting but wrong choice.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “decry”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.