detractor means A person who belittles the worth of another person or cause. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 80 out of 100.
Why “detractor” is a great word
DETRACTOR — [Noun] A person who disparages or belittles the worth of another person or cause. From Middle English *detractor*, *dectractour*, from Anglo-Norman *detractour*, from Old French *detractor*, ultimately from Latin *detractare* ("to take away, disparage"), from *de-* ("away") + *tractare* ("to drag, handle"). First attested in English in the late 14th century. Unlike a "critic," whose evaluation may be a constructive offering, or a "supporter," whose role is active advocacy, the detractor’s function is purely subtractive. It is the scoff in the back row, the anonymous comment snipping at a public triumph, the deliberate coldness in a colleague’s applause—a slow, sure erosion, the quiet labor of pulling something down, grain by grain.
Etymology
From Middle English detractor, dectractour, from Anglo-Norman detractour, from Old French detractor.
noun
- A person who belittles the worth of another person or cause.“Four polite Englishmen in their middle 20s, feigning like firewater drunks in a Eugene O'Neill play: it's exactly the stuff that makes their detractors groan.”