Dictionary

destigmatize en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /diːˈstɪɡmətaɪz/ (UK)
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *de Proto-Indo-European *-h₁ Proto-Indo-European *déh₁ Proto-Italic *dē Latin dē Latin dē-der. English de- Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg-der. Proto-Hellenic *stíd͏̌d͏̌ō Ancient Greek στῐ́ζω (stĭ́zō) Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Proto-Hellenic *-mə Ancient Greek -μᾰ (-mă) Ancient Greek στίγμα (stígma) Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íd͏̌d͏̌ō Ancient Greek -ίζω (-ízō) Ancient Greek στιγματίζω (stigmatízō)bor. Medieval Latin stigmatizōbor. English stigmatize English destigmatize From de- + stigmatize.

Meanings

1. (transitive) To remove the disgraceful or ignominious characterization; to remove stigma or stigmata.
   • The “untreated” part is important, because Dr. Clayton went on to become one of the leading voices for destigmatizing depression and suicide in America. 2021 July 10, Clay Risen, “Paula J. Clayton Dies at 86; Helped Destigmatize Depression and Suicide”, in The New York Times:
   • Before we can destigmatize suicide — assuming that is what we want to do — we must acknowledge that killing oneself is still an intensely stigmatized act... 1999, Thomas Stephen Szasz, Fatal freedom: the ethics and politics of suicide:
   • Like any other literary form, pathography can be good or bad, Dr. Kramer said. When it is good, "it destigmatizes an illness. It's refreshing. It can show that depression or attention deficit disorder doesn't disqualify anyone from the full range of social behavior." 1999 April 24, Sarah Boxer, “THINK TANK; A Son's Simple Diagnosis of His Father's Complexities”, in The New York Times:
   • “All these companies now are trying to be hip and colorful and just really destigmatize these products,” said Leslie Schrock, an investor with several portfolio companies in the women’s health sector and the author of books on pregnancy and fertility. 2023 October 1, Jordyn Holman, quoting Leslie Schrock, “Gen Z Wants Feminine Care Brands to Just Say Vagina”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
   • Judy Rappaport's "The Boy Who Couldn't Stop Washing," about obsessive-compulsive disorder, brought this disorder out of the closet to the point where we've destigmatized it. 1996 June 16, Linda Tagliaferro, “Long Island Q & A: Dr. Harold S. Koplewicz;Helping to Combat Child and Adolescent Mental Disorders”, in The New York Times:

Forms

Antonyms

stigmatize

Deriveds

destigmatizer

Relateds

destigmatization

Translations (6)

de entstigmatisieren (remove the disgraceful or ignominious characterization from) · pl zdestygmatyzować (remove the disgraceful or ignominious characterization from) · es desestigmatizar (remove the disgraceful or ignominious characterization from) · de destigmatisieren (remove the disgraceful or ignominious characterization from) · fr déstigmatiser (remove the disgraceful or ignominious characterization from) · pl destygmatyzować (remove the disgraceful or ignominious characterization from)