Sample sentences for DETRACT - verbalworkout.com

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Definition

to diminish (reduce the value of something)

I think she's made a good case. I can neither add to it nor detract from it.

detract = to diminish (reduce the value of something)

Her bad manners detract from her good character

detract = to diminish (reduce the value of something)

I assure you that it has not detracted in the tiniest iota from your appearance.
Arthur Conan Doyle -- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Once Chuito complained to the bosses and was written up for detracting from the familial spirit of the department.
Junot Diaz -- Drown
I supposed because Nero hadn't wanted his detractors trying to shoot arrows into his imperial noggin.
Rick Riordan -- The Hidden Oracle
But will it not live with the living? no. Why? detraction will not suffer it.
William Shakespeare -- Henry IV, Part 1

(editor's note: The suffix "-tion", converts a verb into a noun that denotes the action or result of the verb. Typically, there is a slight change in the ending of the root verb, as in action, education, and observation.)

Yet the occasional detractor surfaced, amidst the general flow of praise.
James Bradley -- Flags of Our Fathers
The detractors asserted that the movie was an example of Western propaganda that sought toerase the fact that Cleopatra was an African woman.
Nelson Mandela -- Long Walk to Freedom
He had his share of setbacks and failures as well as many detractors.
Jim Stovall -- The Ultimate Gift
The king was dull and appeared ill, which detracted a little from his usual lofty bearing.
Alexandre Dumas -- The Three Musketeers
Of course, the floodlights and razor wire at the top of the wall detracted a bit from its charm, but if you squinted, they faded a little.
James Patterson -- Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports
He did his work, and leaned on Leora's assurance, and tried to ignore his detractors.
Sinclair Lewis -- Arrowsmith
Your picture is so fine that my observation cannot detract from it, and, besides, it is only my personal opinion.
Leo Tolstoy -- Anna Karenina
And half me—which, surprisingly, made her better rather than detracting.
Stephenie Meyer -- Breaking Dawn
Moreover, you will prove to your detractors that we cannot trust a Dragon Rider.
Christopher Paolini -- Brisingr
It is neither wise nor honest to detract from beauty as a quality.
Lew Wallace -- Ben Hur
The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.
Abraham Lincoln -- Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address
And all of them just to detract attention away from me.
Barbara Kingsolver -- The Poisonwood Bible
Naturally, Pork and Dilcey and Mammy gave vent to loud guffaws at hearing the detractor of their beloved Tara set at naught.
Margaret Mitchell -- Gone with the Wind
His forward voice now is to speak well of his friend; his backward voice is to utter foul speeches, and to detract.
William Shakespeare -- The Tempest

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