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Denigrate Quotes

Quotes on tearing down versus building up

These quotes weigh the choice between actions that build life up and words that denigrate it, with several speakers careful not to belittle themselves. It's practical Advice on choosing words wisely.

To me, the drive for monumentality is as inbred as the desire for food and sex, regardless of how we denigrate it. Monuments differ in different periods. Each age has its own.

Quotes by Philip Johnson

Let me say right off the bat that I'm not what you would call a 'tree hugger' or a 'bushes and bunnies' environmentalist out to save the planet or the whales - although I do not denigrate that perspective either,...

Quotes by Peter Navarro

I'm not saying anything to denigrate 'Criminal Minds'; that's a great show. I just didn't appreciate it anymore. I appreciate those people, but I realized my heart wasn't in and I needed to go because plenty of people would rip...

Quotes by Paget Brewster

I'm not myself religious but have no wish to insult or denigrate those who are.

Quotes by Martin Rees

Action Quotes

I have not intended to denigrate or hurt the beliefs of anyone through my art.

Quotes by M. F. Husain

My basis of morality is this: does this action enhance life, or does it denigrate life? Does it build up or does it tear down?

Quotes by John Shelby Spong

I think that what I do, in terms of how I craft my words rhetorically, is fairly simple stuff. I don't mean that to denigrate myself. I mean that in the sense of, when I write, the person that I...

Quotes by John Scalzi

I guess I get bored easily, and thank God. I don't want to all my life pound only the same key, although some artists do it very effectively. I'm not trying to denigrate anybody.

Quotes by John Baldessari

Those who enjoy their own emotionally bad health and who habitually fill their own minds with the rank poisons of suspicion, jealousy and hatred, as a rule take umbrage at those who refuse to do likewise, and they find a...

Quotes by Johannes Brahms

Advice Quotes

If we can believe in our own value, then we won't try to denigrate and diss and just roast women all the time.

Quotes by Jidenna

I find it reprehensible that anyone would seek to denigrate the legacy of Dr. King in any way.

Quotes by Jesse White

We should never denigrate any other culture but rather help people to understand the relationship between their own culture and the dominant culture. When you understand another culture or language, it does not mean that you have to lose your...

Quotes by Edward T. Hall

Far be it from me to denigrate Senator McCain's advice on vice presidential nominees.

Quotes by David Axelrod

I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down'.

Quotes by Bob Newhart

Age Quotes

There is hope for humanity, but in order for us to get there, we really have to interrogate not just what it takes to change laws, but what it takes to change culture that supports laws that uplift humanity and...

Quotes by Alicia Garza

Frequently Asked Questions

What does "denigrate" mean here?
To denigrate is to belittle or speak ill of someone or something; these quotes use it as a moral test, asking whether a choice builds life up or tears it down.
Are these quotes self-critical or aimed at others?
A mix - some speakers explicitly say they aren't trying to denigrate themselves or anybody else, showing real care about how their words land.
Is there a quote about morality specifically?
Yes, one speaker defines their entire basis of morality around whether an Action enhances or denigrates life - a simple build-up-or-tear-down test.
What's the connection to jealousy or suspicion?
One quote describes people who fill their minds with suspicion and jealousy and then resent those who won't join them - a subtler form of denigrating others' happiness.
Why would a creative person worry about denigrating their own work?
One quote comes from someone describing their craft as "simple stuff," careful to clarify that calling it simple isn't meant to denigrate their own effort.

One line frames morality itself around this test: does an Action enhance life or tear it down? Read our Appreciate quotes for the opposite side of that coin.