destigmatize
verbUK /diːˈstɪɡmətaɪz/
Etymology From de- + stigmatize.
1
To remove the disgraceful or ignominious characterization; to remove stigma or stigmata.
- 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.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:
- 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 April 24, Sarah Boxer, “THINK TANK; A Son's Simple Diagnosis of His Father's Complexities”, in The New York Times:
3 more examples
- 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...1999, Thomas Stephen Szasz, Fatal freedom: the ethics and politics of suicide:
- The “untreated” part is important, because Dr. Clayton went on to become one of the leading voices for destigmatizing depression and suicide in America.2021 July 10, Clay Risen, “Paula J. Clayton Dies at 86; Helped Destigmatize Depression and Suicide”, in The New York Times:
- “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.2023 October 1, Jordyn Holman, quoting Leslie Schrock, “Gen Z Wants Feminine Care Brands to Just Say Vagina”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
- Derived terms
- destigmatizer
- Related terms
- destigmatization