discredit

/dɪsˈkredɪt/ v.
核心精讲 CET-6IELTS 词根 cred
一句话记住

使不可信；使（说法、证据）受到怀疑；败坏……的名声；使丢脸

释义与例句

v. 使不可信；使（说法、证据）受到怀疑
to make people stop believing or trusting something
  1. Later evidence discredited the theory completely.
    后来的证据使这一理论彻底失去了可信度。
  2. The newspaper was accused of trying to discredit the report.
    这家报纸被指责试图让人们不相信那份报告。
展开其余 3 条例句
  1. New data have discredited the claim that the drug is harmless.
    新数据使“该药无害”的说法站不住脚。
  2. He produced emails that discredited her account of the meeting.
    他拿出邮件，使她关于那次会议的说法不再可信。
  3. Such rumours do little to discredit a well-tested method.
    这类谣言很难动摇一种经过充分检验的方法的可信度。
v. 败坏……的名声；使丢脸
to harm the reputation of a person or organization
  1. The scandal seriously discredited the government.
    这起丑闻严重败坏了政府的名声。
  2. He tried to discredit his rival with false accusations.
    他试图用不实指控败坏对手的名声。
展开其余 3 条例句
  1. The company was discredited by years of unsafe products.
    多年的不安全产品使这家公司名誉扫地。
  2. She felt the article was written to discredit her professionally.
    她觉得那篇文章意在毁掉她的职业声誉。
  3. A single mistake can discredit an entire research team.
    一个失误就可能让整个研究团队蒙羞。

词源与构词

dis-（否定、相反）+ credit（信任）：让人不再相信，即“使不可信”，进而指“败坏名声”。

dis- 前缀 · not, opposite，不、相反
cred 词根 · to believe，相信
-it 后缀 · verb ending，动词后缀
记忆钩子 dis（不）+ cred（相信）+ it：让人“不再相信”，先是使说法不可信，再是让人名誉扫地。

词族与关联词

同根词（同一个词根长出来的词）
  • accredit 认证；认可（机构、课程或人员达到标准）
    The university is accredited by the national education council. 这所大学获得了国家教育委员会的认证。
  • credence 相信；信任（把某种说法当作真的）
    The judge gave little credence to the witness's story. 法官不太相信证人的说法。
  • credential 资格证书；资历
    Please bring your credentials to the interview. 面试时请带上你的资格证书。
  • credible 可信的；可靠的
    The witness gave a credible account. 这位证人提供了可信的陈述。
  • credit 信用；赊购
    He bought the car on credit. 他赊账买了这辆车。
  • credo 信条；信念（指导行为的核心原则）
    Her credo is simple: work hard and stay curious. 她的信条很简单：努力工作，保持好奇。
  • creed 信条；教义
    Honesty is his creed. 诚实是他的信条。
  • incredible 难以置信的；惊人的
    The view from the top is incredible. 从山顶看到的景色令人难以置信。
  • incredulous 怀疑的；不相信的（尤指因事情出乎意料）
    She gave me an incredulous look when I told her the news. 我告诉她这个消息时，她一脸不相信。
词族（同一词根派生出的不同词性或形式）
  • discredited 名誉扫地的；不再可信的
    discredit + -ed，动词变形容词
  • discreditable 丢脸的；有损名誉的
    discredit + -able，表示“带来耻辱的”
  • creditable 值得称赞的；可取的
    credit + -able，与 discredit 相对，表示“可给信誉的”
同义词
  • undermine 削弱；暗中破坏
    undermine 指逐步削弱，不限于名声；discredit 直接指向可信度或名誉。
    Constant criticism undermined her confidence. 不断的批评削弱了她的信心。
  • defame 诽谤；诋毁
    defame 专指以不实之词损害名誉，含法律色彩；discredit 还可指使说法不可信。
    He sued the magazine for defaming him. 他起诉该杂志诽谤他。
  • disprove 证明……有误
    disprove 靠证据证明错误；discredit 只需让人不再相信，未必给出反证。
    No one has disproved the hypothesis. 还没有人证明这个假说有误。
反义词
  • credit 相信；给予赞誉
    I credit her with great courage. 我认为她非常勇敢。
  • endorse 支持；认可
    Several experts endorsed the findings. 几位专家认可了这些发现。
易混词（形近或义近，注意区别）
  • discount 折扣；不重视
    discount 是 dis- + count（计算），原指“扣除”，引申为“不予考虑”；discredit 是 dis- + cred（相信）。
    We should not discount the risks. 我们不应忽视这些风险。
  • distrust 不信任；怀疑
    distrust 是 dis- + trust（信任），指心里不信任；discredit 是“使别人不信”，对象是别人。
    She distrusted his sudden friendliness. 她不相信他突然的友好。
常见搭配
  • discredit a theory 使某理论不可信
    The experiment discredited the old theory. 这个实验使旧理论不再可信。
  • discredit the evidence 使证据失去可信度
    The defence tried to discredit the evidence. 辩方试图使这些证据失去可信度。
  • discredit oneself 使自己名誉受损
    He discredited himself by lying to the committee. 他向委员会撒谎，使自己名誉受损。
  • a campaign to discredit sb 败坏某人名声的运动
    They ran a campaign to discredit her. 他们发起了一场败坏她名声的运动。