detract
verb
Simple meaning
Take away a part from.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
dihtraktSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
dɪtˈɹækt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
Take away a part from; diminish
“His bad manners detract from his good character.”
transitive
To take credit or reputation from; to derogate; to defame or decry.
intransitive
To take away; to withdraw or remove.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
This meaning: Take away a part from; diminish
Used this way, detract is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“His bad manners detract from his good character.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use detract
- “His bad manners detract from his good character.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.