detract Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb take away a part from; diminish
    take away.
    • His bad manners detract from his good character

WordNet

De*tract" transitive verb
Etymology
L. detractus, p. p. of detrahere to detract; de + trahere to draw: cf. F. détracter. See Trace.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Detracted; present participle & verbal noun Detracting
Definitions
  1. To take away; to withdraw.
    Detract much from the view of the without. Sir H. Wotton.
  2. To take credit or reputation from; to defame.
    That calumnious critic . . . Detracting what laboriously we do. Drayton.
    Syn. -- To derogate; decry; disparage; depreciate; asperse; vilify; defame; traduce. See Decry.
De*tract" intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To take away a part or something, especially from one's credit; to lessen reputation; to derogate; to defame; -- often with from.
    It has been the fashion to detract both from the moral and literary character of Cicero. V. Knox.

Webster 1913