Dictionary entry

Denigrate

Webster's Dictionary 1913

Den″i‐grate (?), v. t. [L. denigrare; de- + nigrare to blacken, niger black.] 1. To blacken thoroughly; to make very black. Boyle.

2. Fig.: To blacken or sully; to defame.

To denigrate the memory of Voltaire. Morley.