detract
- 01 C1 Advanced
to make something seem less good or less important.
to diminish the worth, quality, or importance of something; almost always used intransitively with the preposition 'from'.
Simple“The small scratch on the table does not detract from its overall beauty.”
In context“While the technical glitches were minor, they did detract from the overall impact of the keynote presentation.”
UsageUsually functions as an intransitive verb followed by the preposition 'from'.
Teacher's tipLearners often confuse this with 'distract'; remind them that 'detract' is about value, while 'distract' is about attention.
- 02 C2 Proficiency
to say bad things about someone to make them lose respect.
to take away credit or reputation from a person or achievement; to derogate or decry.
Simple“Critics tried to detract his success by focusing on his early failures.”
In context“The political campaign sought to detract the candidate's reputation through a series of coordinated character attacks.”
UsageUsed transitively when the object is a person's reputation or character.
Teacher's tipThis transitive use is much rarer in modern English than the intransitive 'detract from' construction.
“None of this detracts from the fact that Sunrise is an engrossing, original and thought-provoking novel, effortlessly readable and beautifully told.”
“The brighter silver paint contrasting the greenhouse and A and D pillars against the darker bronze lower body somewhat detracts from the overall look.”
Borrowed from Middle French détracter, from Latin detractum, past participle of detraho.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.