Touted

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To promote or praise something with great enthusiasm, often in a manner that emphasizes its advantages or notable qualities
2. Described in an overly positive way to attract attention or interest
3. Presented with strong support to highlight its value or benefits

Etymology: The verb "tout" once meant something close to the opposite of its modern sense. In Middle English, "touten" meant to jut out or protrude, and it also meant to peer or gaze at something, the sense of a sentry keeping watch from a projecting point. The Old English ancestor, "tūtian," described something sticking out, and it belongs to a family of Germanic words built on the idea of projection. The same root produced Icelandic "túta," a teat-like prominence, which shows how physical and literal the original image was. Where the modern sense of loud, favourable promotion came from is less certain. Scholars have linked the word to a dialect verb "toot," meaning to peep out or look, and to Old English words for pomp and vainglory, which may have shaped the later sense of showing something off. The connection to French "tout," meaning "all," is considered probable but unproven, and the historical record does not settle the matter.

Synonyms: promoted, praised, publicized, boasted, endorsed

Antonyms: criticized, disparaged, denounced, belittled, ignored