Meaning & use
discredit
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To damage the good reputation of a person or group, so that others stop trusting them.
Grammar: Takes an object: discredit a witness.
Patterns
- discredit someone
- discredit someone by doing something
The rumor was meant to discredit the mayor before the election.
The scandal discredited the entire department.
They tried to discredit her by exposing an old mistake.
verbtransitive
To make a claim or theory seem false or unreliable, usually by showing proof against it.
Grammar: Takes an object such as a theory or a report: discredit a study.
Patterns
- discredit a theory
- discredit evidence
New data discredited the old theory.
The investigation discredited the witness's story.
Reviewers found errors that discredited the study.
noununcountableformal
Loss of respect or trust, or something that causes shame to a person or group.
Grammar: Often in bring discredit on: bring discredit on the school.
Patterns
- bring discredit on someone
- to someone's discredit
His behavior brought discredit on the whole team.
It is to their discredit that they ignored the warnings.
The affair was no discredit to her.
Word forms
| third person singular | discredits |
|---|---|
| past tense | discredited |
| past participle | discredited |
| -ing form | discrediting |
Common combinations
- discredit a witness
- The lawyer tried to discredit the witness.
- discredit a theory
- New fossils discredited the old theory.
- seek to discredit
- Critics sought to discredit her research.
- deliberately discredit
- The rumor deliberately discredited the candidate.
- bring discredit on
- His crimes brought discredit on the club.
Synonyms and how they differ
- undermine
- Undermine means weakening gradually, while discredit aims at damaging trust directly.
- disgrace
- Disgrace means to bring shame on, but discredit is mainly about making people doubt someone.
- refute
- Refute means to prove wrong with arguments, while discredit may work by attacking the source.
- smear
- Smear implies spreading false or unfair claims, but discredit can use true evidence.
Opposites
Word family
- credit noun
- praise or belief that something is true
- discredited adjective
- no longer trusted
- credible adjective
- believable
- incredible adjective
- hard to believe, or amazing
Commonly confused: discredit or disprove? discredit or disregard?
discredit vs disprove
Disprove means to show something is false, whereas discredit damages trust in a source or a claim.
discredit vs disregard
Disregard means to ignore something.
Practice
The defense lawyer tried to ___ the key witness by showing that he had lied under oath before.
Choose one answer.
Discredit means to damage trust in someone. Credit and accredit are positive, giving belief or approval.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “discredit”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.