To deprive of character; to ruin someone's reputation or standing; to discredit.
From dis- (negation prefix) + character (from Latin character, ultimately from Greek 'engraved mark'). The prefix inverts the meaning to mean 'to remove the character from.'
This archaic verb means to publicly destroy someone's good name — it's less harsh than modern words like 'slander' but captures something specific about erasing a person's established reputation.
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