Discommended

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To have expressed strong disapproval or criticism of someone or something
2. Having been officially or publicly criticized or found objectionable
3. Described in a negative way, showing that something is not recommended or approved

Etymology: "Discommend" is built from "dis-" and "commend," and the pairing is almost perfectly literal: "commend" means to praise or entrust, so "discommend" means to blame or disapprove, the exact reverse. The "dis-" prefix came into English from Latin, where it signified separation, reversal, or negation, and it has been attached to hundreds of English verbs that turn a positive action into its opposite. The verb "commend" itself descends from Latin "commendare," meaning to entrust or commit to someone's care, from "com-" (together) and "mandare" (to order or entrust). That older sense of handing something over to another person's keeping is the root from which the later meaning of praise grew, since one commended a person by recommending them to others. "Discommend" carries that same logic in reverse, moving from recommendation to reproach. The "discommended" form is the past tense and past participle, describing someone or something that has been publicly blamed or found wanting. Its meaning matches the reversal built into its parts: a thing that was once commended, or could have been, now stands criticized.

Synonyms: condemned, disapproved

Antonyms: commended, approved