Meanings
comparative more detractory · superlative most detractory
- archaicThat detracts from something; disparaging, depreciatory.
For this is not only derogatory unto the wisdom of God, who hath proposed the World unto out knowledge, and thereby the notion of Himself; but also detractory unto the intellect, and sense of man expressedly disposed for that inquisition.
1646, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica, I.5
Origin
- Latindētractōrius
- Englishdetractory
From Latin dētractōrius, from dētractor.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
detractory. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/detractory
“detractory.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/detractory. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “detractory,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/detractory.
Source: detractory on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.