William BlackstoneDan Sweeney
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Decry has several synonyms in English, among them disparage and belittle. Decry connotes an open condemnation that makes it the best choice for cases in which criticism is not at all veiled. The forthrightness expressed by the word is an echo from its ancestry: decry was borrowed in the 17th century from the French décrier, meaning "to discredit, depreciate," and the crier in that word is also the source of our word cry, the oldest meaning of which is “to utter loudly; shout.”
Synonyms
Examples of decry in a Sentence
Minnah Arshad, USA TODAY, 5 Apr. 2024
Glazer, Tony Kushner, Steven Spielberg and countless other artists of all backgrounds have decried the killing of Palestinian civilians.
—Ellise Shafer, Variety, 5 Apr. 2024
Read Next Protesters decry Meck DA decision to not charge deputy US marshal in Jennings killing
July 06, 2021 11:03 AM
Now, she’s reminded of her brother’s last birthday every time the police shoot another person.
—Julia Coin, Charlotte Observer, 3 Apr. 2024
Rather than discussing how such a catastrophic collapse could happen, these accounts decried the bridge's failure as a result of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies and zeroed in on Scott's mayorship to blame.
—Alana Wise, NPR, 26 Mar. 2024
Its explosive growth has been celebrated by Christian groups and parents who’ve long decried the removal of religion from America’s classrooms — and denounced by those who believe there should be a hard line between religion and public education.
—Mike Hixenbaugh, NBC News, 25 Mar. 2024
The conference has also decried the deaths of civilians.
—Christine Rousselle, Fox News, 23 Mar. 2024
In a slightly awkward fit for Kennedy, Ventura also decried people who refused to wear masks early in the pandemic.
—Anna Merlan, WIRED, 14 Mar. 2024
Evergrande at the time decried the allegations as false, and filed a police report against the short-seller.
—Kiuyan Wong, Fortune Asia, 26 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'decry.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near decry
Cite this Entry
“Decry.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/decry. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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