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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
- 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
- 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
detract = to diminish (reduce the value of something)
(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.)
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