damn with faint praise

D d

Definitions of damn with faint praise words

phrase damn with faint praise If someone damns something with faint praise, they say something about it which sounds quite nice but is not enthusiastic, and shows that they do not have a high opinion of it. 3
noun damn with faint praise to praise so unenthusiastically that the effect is condemnation 3
noun damn with faint praise to praise with so little enthusiasm as, in effect, to condemn 3
verb with object damn with faint praise to declare (something) to be bad, unfit, invalid, or illegal. 1
verb with object damn with faint praise to condemn as a failure: to damn a play. 1
verb with object damn with faint praise to bring condemnation upon; ruin. 1

before 1250

One of the 11% oldest English words

1250-1300; Middle English dam(p)nen < Old French dam(p)ner < Latin damnāre to condemn, derivative of damnum damage, fine, harm

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 93% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

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