" discredit "

1: the state of having lost the esteem of others;

  * e.g., " ... to his everlasting discredit, the coach was found to have placed bets against his own team "

•  Synonyms : 

•  disesteem,

•  disgrace,

•  dishonor,

•  disrepute,

•  ignominy,

•  infamy,

•  obloquy,

•  odium,

•  opprobrium,

•  reproach,

•  shame

•  Antonyms : 

•  esteem,

•  honor,

•  respect

1: to reduce to a lower standing in one's own eyes or in others' eyes;

  * e.g., " ... attempted to discredit her political opponents by deliberately spreading false rumors "

•  Synonyms : 

•  abase,

•  chasten,

•  cheapen,

•  debase,

•  degrade,

•  demean,

•  disgrace,

•  dishonor,

•  foul,

•  humble,

•  humiliate,

•  lower,

•  shame,

•  sink,

•  smirch,

•  take down

•  Antonyms : 

•  aggrandize,

•  canonize,

•  deify,

•  elevate,

•  exalt

2: to think not to be true or real;

  * e.g., " ... I discredit the story that the old inn is haunted "

•  Synonyms : 

•  disbelieve,

•  negate

•  Antonyms : 

•  accept,

•  believe,

•  credit,

•  swallow

3: to prove to be false;

  * e.g., " ... the pseudoscience of phrenology has been thoroughly discredited "

•  Synonyms : 

•  belie,

•  confound,

•  confute,

•  debunk,

•  disconfirm,

•  disprove,

•  falsify,

•  rebut,

•  refute,

•  shoot down

•  Antonyms : 

•  confirm,

•  establish,

•  prove,

•  validate,

•  verify