けなす・貶すkenasu[0]heiban (flat)

1. godan verb, transitive verbto speak ill of; to disparage
   君きみは、いつも私の服ふくをけなすのだから。↗

   You are always digging at me about my clothes.

• SynonymそしるWrittenWritten word for unfairly speaking ill of someone, often behind their back, as in 「陰で人を謗る」.
• Synonym腐すくさすCasualColloquial verb for mocking or running something down, as in 「人の作品をくさす」; very close to 「貶す」.
• Related誹謗ひぼうNeutralNoun for slander, as in 「誹謗する」; the emphasis is on maliciously attacking someone.
• Related中傷ちゅうしょうNeutralNoun for damaging someone's honor with groundless talk, as in 「中傷ビラ」; 「貶す」 is pointing out flaws directly.
• Related誹毀ひきWrittenRare written word for defaming someone's honor; 「誹謗」 is the usual choice.
• Related誹謗中傷ひぼうちゅうしょうNeutralFour-character compound for vicious, groundless slander, as in 「ネットの誹謗中傷」; a staple of news reporting.
• Related讒謗ざんぼうWrittenRare written word for slanderous talk defaming someone.
• Related貶するWrittenWritten Sino-Japanese verb read 「へんする」, as in 「人を貶する」; 「貶す」 is the native word common in everyday speech.
• Antonym褒めるほめるNeutralThe opposite of 「貶す」: to praise, as in 「子供を褒める」.
• Antonym称えるたたえるNeutralThe opposite of 「貶す」: to extol, as in 「功績を称える」.

Use 「貶す」 to put down a work or person by pointing out flaws, as in 「作品を貶す」. For mocking, say 「くさす」; for malicious slander, 「中傷」; in written prose, 「謗る」. The opposite is 「褒める」.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

1. 相手あいての劣おとっている点てんを挙あげて、悪わるく言ゆう。ぼろくそに言ゆう。