Derogatory

How to spell derogatory

10 letters · 5 syllables

3 of the 41 people asked to spell derogatory in Spelling Garden got it wrong the first time.

The most common mistake is derrogatory. The letters people get wrong are highlighted.

derrogatory derogatory

What people typed instead

• derrogatory3 people

How to pronounce derogatory

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does derogatory mean?

1. adjectiveShowing a critical or disrespectful attitude that belittles someone or something.

Derogatory in a sentence

• The manager was reprimanded for making derogatory comments about a colleague.

• The review was so derogatory that the author threatened legal action.

Where does derogatory come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb derogare, which combined de- meaning 'away from' or 'down' with rogare meaning 'to ask' or 'to propose a law'. In Roman legal language, to derogate a law was to repeal part of it, literally to 'ask away' some of its force, so the early sense was about detracting or taking something away. From the verb came the adjective derogatorius, describing anything that lessened the worth or standing of a thing. English adopted it in the fifteenth century, at first in formal and legal contexts, before it broadened into the modern sense of remarks that belittle or disparage. The same rogare root survives in everyday relatives such as 'interrogate' and 'prerogative', and remembering that hidden 'rog' (ask) sitting in the middle helps fix the spelling of derogatory.

How the word is built

• de- (away, down)
• rog (ask, propose a law)
• -atory (adjective suffix)