destigmatize

English

Alternative forms

• destigmatise

Etymology

From de- +‎ stigmatize.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /diːˈstɪɡmətaɪz/

Verb

destigmatize (third-person singular simple present destigmatizes, present participle destigmatizing, simple past and past participle destigmatized)

1. (transitive) To remove the disgraceful or ignominious characterization; to remove stigma or stigmata.
   • 1996 June 16, Linda Tagliaferro, “Long Island Q & A: Dr. Harold S. Koplewicz;Helping to Combat Child and Adolescent Mental Disorders”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     Judy Rappaport's "The Boy Who Couldn't Stop Washing," about obsessive-compulsive disorder, brought this disorder out of the closet to the point where we've destigmatized it.

   • 1999 April 24, Sarah Boxer, “THINK TANK; A Son's Simple Diagnosis of His Father's Complexities”, in The New York Times‎^[2]:

     Like any other literary form, pathography can be good or bad, Dr. Kramer said. When it is good, "it destigmatizes an illness. It's refreshing. It can show that depression or attention deficit disorder doesn't disqualify anyone from the full range of social behavior."

   • 1999, Thomas Stephen Szasz, Fatal freedom: the ethics and politics of suicide:

     Before we can destigmatize suicide — assuming that is what we want to do — we must acknowledge that killing oneself is still an intensely stigmatized act...

   • 2021 October 7, Clay Risen, “Paula J. Clayton Dies at 86; Helped Destigmatize Depression and Suicide”, in The New York Times‎^[3]:

     The “untreated” part is important, because Dr. Clayton went on to become one of the leading voices for destigmatizing depression and suicide in America.

   • 2023 October 1, Jordyn Holman, quoting Leslie Schrock, “Gen Z Wants Feminine Care Brands to Just Say Vagina”, in The New York Times‎^[4], →ISSN:

     “All these companies now are trying to be hip and colorful and just really destigmatize these products,” said Leslie Schrock, an investor with several portfolio companies in the women’s health sector and the author of books on pregnancy and fertility.

Antonyms

• stigmatize

Derived terms

• destigmatizer

 

Related terms

• destigmatization

Translations

remove the disgraceful or ignominious characterization from

• French: déstigmatiser (fr)
• German: entstigmatisieren, destigmatisieren (rare)
• Spanish: desestigmatizar