denigrate

Lysenko benefited from Stalin’s suspicion of and hostility toward scientific experts, whom his henchmen denigrated as “enemies of the people” for their defense of “pure science for the sake of science.”

By the mid-20th-century, however, leading behavioral theorists denigrated the idea of studying animal emotions since, even if they existed, they were scientifically unmeasurable and unverifiable.

Native Americans won state backing to ban a term used to denigrate Native women from geographic place names.

Even before the election, Zelensky shrugged off denigrating references from Trump, who at one point called him the “world’s greatest salesman” for his successes in garnering U.S. aid.

A statement from the vice-president's office said the decision had been taken in the wake of the widely circulated videos which had "denigrated the image of the country".