Disvalues

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Characterizing the negative assessment or devaluation of certain qualities or attributes in a person or concept
2. Referring to the act of attributing less worth or importance to something that traditionally might be valued
3. Involving a process of diminishing the perceived significance or merit of certain ideas or practices in a social context

Etymology: "Disvalues" is the third-person singular present form of "disvalue," a verb built from the prefix "dis-" (meaning apart, away, or the reversal of an action) attached to "value." The pattern is ordinary English word formation: "dis-" has been used since Latin times to reverse or negate, as in "disagree" or "dislike," and attaching it to "value" produces the sense of treating something as having less worth than it deserves. The verb's meaning, involving the diminishing of the perceived significance or merit of ideas or practices in a social setting, follows directly from that reversal. Rather than the literal removal of value from a physical object, the word works on abstract judgments, so a community that disvalues a practice is actively lowering its standing in collective opinion. The base word "value" itself came into English from Old French, but the prefix does the work here, so the formation is transparent to any speaker who knows both parts.

Synonyms: devalues, discounts, depreciates, undervalues, belittles

Antonyms: values, appreciates, prizes, esteems, respects