to damn with faint praise
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To praise in such measured terms as to deprive the praise of any real value.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to damn with faint praise” mean?
To praise in such measured terms as to deprive the praise of any real value.
Is “to damn with faint praise” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.