Putdowns

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Derogatory remarks or insults intended to belittle someone, often undermining their confidence or worthiness
2. Comments made with the intent of disparaging or mocking another person, revealing a lack of respect
3. Expressions that serve to demean an individual, frequently manifesting as sarcastic or critical statements directed at them

Etymology: "Putdowns" is the plural of "putdown," a noun formed from the phrasal verb "put down." The verb's sense of belittling someone comes from the older idea of pushing a person down or lowering their standing, and the noun was made from it by a process called deverbal formation, in which a noun is derived from a verb-and-particle combination. In this case the particle "down" stays attached in the noun, so a putdown is literally the act of putting someone down. The plural simply adds the usual "-s" to the noun, so "putdowns" refers to several such remarks or acts. Because the word is built from a common phrasal verb rather than borrowed from another language, its history is transparent: anyone who knows the verb "put down" can work out the noun from it.

Synonyms: insults, derisions