decry
Americanverb (used with object)
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to speak disparagingly of; denounce as faulty or worthless; express censure of.
She decried the lack of support for the arts in this country.
- Synonyms:
- minimize, depreciate, discredit, disparage, belittle
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to condemn or depreciate by proclamation, as foreign or obsolete coins.
verb
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to express open disapproval of; disparage
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to depreciate by proclamation
to decry obsolete coinage
Synonym Usage
Decry, denigrate, deprecate, derogate all involve the expression of censure or disapproval. Decry means to express one's vigorous disapproval of or to denounce: to decry all forms of discrimination. Denigrate means to speak damagingly of, to criticize in derogative terms: denigrating his works as trifling and poorly executed. Deprecate implies the expression of earnest, thoughtful disapproval: to deprecate a plan because of possible environmental damage. Derogate means to speak in such a way as to decrease the status, high quality, or good reputation of someone or something, making the person or object seem of less value: Fear of change makes them derogate every proposal put forth.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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decrysimple
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decriessimple
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have decriedperfect
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has decriedperfect
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am decryingprogressive
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are decryingprogressive
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is decryingprogressive
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have been decryingperfect progressive
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has been decryingperfect progressive
Past
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decriedsimple
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had decriedperfect
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was decryingprogressive
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were decryingprogressive
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had been decryingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of decry
1610–20; < French décrier, Old French descrier. See dis- 1, cry
Explanation
When you dye your hair pink and orange, your mother decries your act as a horror and bursts into tears. She criticizes your choice of colors, stating that pink and purple would have looked better. You might decry learning French, declaring it as a waste of time. Yet many English words come from French. When the French conquered England in 1066, they brought with them their language as well as their social system. Because French was spoken mostly by the ruling class, many of the loan words are formal. Decry comes from the Old French descrier, "to cry out" or "announce." When you decry something, you simultaneously condemn it and discredit it, a formal act.
Vocabulary lists containing decry
Advanced English Words
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"The Ransom of Red Chief" by O. Henry
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
And so people associated with Turning Point USA and the Daily Wire continue to decry Owens and other prominent conspiracy-theory content creators as vultures.
From Slate ● Jul. 21, 2026
"It's been horrible, there's no support," Castillo, 67, said -- a common complaint among Venezuelans who decry government inaction.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
Whether civics institutes will support discourse across ideological lines or mimic the ideological conformity they decry remains to be seen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
Malinche’s portrayal as a valiant Cortés enabler doesn’t seem to bother audiences, though some decry the work’s pro-Spanish take on the Conquest.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 25, 2026
Speaker after speaker continued to decry the government’s plans.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
But the homeless estimates Pratt decries aren’t something those two have cooked up in a boardroom.
From Slate ● Jun. 3, 2026
As societies transition to cleaner energy, higher efficiency and reduced waste, most of the problems Mr. Ennos decries will solve themselves.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026
It also decries the government’s freezing of $584 million in research grant funding.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2025
The letter, obtained Friday by The Times, decries the vague internal missive the academy sent to its members Wednesday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 28, 2025
Better Joe hath suggested some specific remedies, which Isaac the Joiner decries loudly as the cant of heathenish superstition; and indeed, one wonders at the applications of bone.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
The Council of the District of Columbia in 2025 rolled back a voter-approved increase in the tipped wage minimum after restaurant customers and tipped workers decried the resulting blow to their pocketbooks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
While the National Park Service is named as one of the defendants in the suit, environmental groups and former park service staff have decried the event.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026
A decade ago, the EAC decried the influx of second-hand clothing and was primed to impose a ban across its member states.
From BBC ● May 23, 2026
He decried RIH’s pleas for relief in Rhode Island’s federal court as “flagrant attempts to avoid compliance with lawful orders” designed to “circumvent the authority of this court.”
From Slate ● May 19, 2026
In fact, housing was a fundamental and perennial concern, dating back to slavery days, a festering sore which was often decried by community leaders, white and black, but which never seemed to heal.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
You can see dozens if not hundreds of news articles every week decrying the damage that these foods are doing to our health.
From Slate ● Jul. 12, 2026
Even the pope is dropping hot takes on the topic, decrying the “new forms of slavery” that AI threatens us with.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
Okonjo-Iweala wants the Yaounde meeting to open the next chapter in multilateral trading, decrying growing unilateralism and the collective failure of WTO's 166 members to reinvigorate the institution.
From Barron's ● Mar. 26, 2026
European governments rallied around Slovenia, decrying foreign interference.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026
Or live in my parents’ house forever, decrying the death of the arts?
From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.