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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
be·lit·tle    Audio Help   [bi-lit-l] Pronunciation Key
–verb (used with object), -tled, -tling.
to regard or portray as less impressive or important than appearances indicate; depreciate; disparage.

[Origin: 1775–85, Americanism; be- + little]

be·lit·tle·ment, noun
be·lit·tler, noun

minimize, decry, deprecate, deride, scorn, dismiss.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
belittle

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© 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
be·lit·tle    Audio Help   (bĭ-lĭt'l)  Pronunciation Key 
tr.v.   be·lit·tled, be·lit·tling, be·lit·tles
  1. To represent or speak of as contemptibly small or unimportant; disparage: a person who belittled our efforts to do the job right.
  2. To cause to seem less than another or little: The size of the office tower belittles the surrounding buildings. See Synonyms at decry.

be·lit'tle·ment n., be·lit'tler n.
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
belittle 
1781, "to make small," from little, first recorded in writings of Thomas Jefferson (and probably coined by him), who was execrated for it in England.
"Belittle! What an expression! It may be an elegant one in Virginia, and even perfectly intelligible; but for our part, all we can do is to guess at its meaning. For shame, Mr. Jefferson!" ["European Magazine and London Review," 1787, reporting on "Notes on the State of Virginia"; to guess was considered another barbarous Yankeeism.]
The fig. sense of "depreciate, scorn as worthless" is from 1797.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
belittle

verb
1. cause to seem less serious; play down; "Don't belittle his influence" [syn: minimize
2. express a negative opinion of; "She disparaged her student's efforts" [syn: disparage] [ant: blandish
3. lessen the authority, dignity, or reputation of; "don't belittle your colleagues" [syn: diminish

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
belittle [biˈlitl] verb
to make to seem unimportant (usually by harsh criticism)
Example: She belittled his achievements.
Arabic: يُقَلِّل من قيمَة
Chinese (Simplified): 贬低
Chinese (Traditional): 貶低
Czech: snižovat, znevažovat
Danish: bagatellisere; nedvurdere
Dutch: kleineren
Estonian: halvustama
Finnish: vähätellä
French: déprécier
German: herabsetzen
Greek: υποβαθμίζω, μειώνω
Hungarian: (le)kicsinyel
Icelandic: gera lítið úr
Indonesian: meremehkan
Italian: sminuire
Japanese: けなす
Korean: 헐뜯다
Latvian: noniecināt
Lithuanian: (su)menkinti
Norwegian: bagatellisere, nedvurdere
Polish: umniejszyć
Portuguese (Brazil): depreciar
Portuguese (Portugal): minimizar
Romanian: a minimaliza
Russian: умалять
Slovak: znevážiť
Slovenian: podcenjevati
Spanish: minimizar, subestimar
Swedish: förringa, nedsätta
Turkish: küçültmek, küçümsemek, küçük görmek
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Belittle

Be*lit"tle\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Belittled; p. pr. & vb. n. Belittling.] To make little or less in a moral sense; to speak of in a depreciatory or contemptuous way. --T. Jefferson.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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