depreciate
/di'pri:ʃieit/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Verb (transitive):
- To lower the value or price of something, especially officially or deliberately: To cause something to be worth less money.
- To belittle, disparage, or speak slightingly of someone or something: To represent something as being of little worth or importance.
Verb (intransitive):
- To decline in value or price over time: To become worth less money, often due to age, use, or market conditions.
Usage Examples
Verb (transitive):
- The central bank can depreciate the currency to boost exports.
- It is unkind to depreciate someone's honest efforts.
Verb (intransitive):
- Most cars depreciate rapidly in their first few years.
- The value of the equipment will depreciate over its useful life.
Advanced Usage
- Accounting/Finance Context: In accounting, "depreciate" refers to the systematic allocation of the cost of a tangible asset over its useful life.
- For tax purposes, the company will depreciate the new machinery over five years.
- Economic Context: Often used regarding currencies or assets losing purchasing power.
- If inflation is high, the local currency may depreciate against the dollar.
Variants and Related Words
- Depreciation (noun): The process or amount of losing value.
- The depreciation of the car was faster than expected.
- Depreciatory (adjective): Tending to depreciate or belittle.
- He made a depreciatory remark about the project's scope.
- Depreciable (adjective): Capable of being depreciated for accounting purposes.
- Land is not a depreciable asset.
Synonyms
- Devalue: To reduce the official value of a currency.
- Diminish: To make or become less.
- Disparage: To regard or represent as being of little worth.
- Undervalue: To rate or estimate something below its real worth.
Antonyms
- Appreciate: To increase in value.
- Cherish: To hold something dear; the opposite of belittling.
- Overvalue: To assign too high a value.
Related Phrases
- To depreciate in value: A common phrase emphasizing the process of losing worth.
- The building continues to depreciate in value due to poor maintenance.
- Self-depreciating: (Note: The more common modern term is "self-deprecating," meaning modest about or critical of oneself).
- Her self-depreciating humor made her very likable. (Note: This usage is less common; "self-deprecating" is standard.)
Verb
- lose in value
- The dollar depreciated again
- lower the value of something
- The Fed depreciated the dollar once again
- belittle
- The teacher should not deprecate his student's efforts