Word of the week é uma publicação semanal de dicas de itens de vocabulário que parecem ter chamado a atenção do examinador em compositions (no quesito Qualidade da Linguagem) de concursos passados. Sempre que possível, ela também traz dicas de usage e de synonyms relacionadas a esses itens.
decry
Decry é um transitive verb que significa “caluniar, rebaixar, desacreditar”. Ele também tem o sentido de criticar algo publicamente ou mostrar desaprovação a respeito de algo. Veja exemplos:
Mitchell decried the high rate of unemployment in the state.
In her article, she decries the pollution of the environment by manufacturers.
Violence on television is generally decried as harmful to children.
O Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary traz diversos sinônimos de decry, mas ressalta algumas diferenças entre eles:
“decry, depreciate, disparage, belittle mean to express a low opinion of. decry implies open condemnation with intent to discredit <decried their defeatist attitude>. depreciate implies a representing as being of less value than commonly believed <critics depreciate his plays for being unabashedly sentimental>. disparage implies depreciation by indirect means such as slighting or invidious comparison <disparaged polo as a game for the rich>. belittle usually suggests a contemptuous or envious attitude <belittled the achievements of others>.”
Cheers!
Fontes:
cacdingles.blog 