belittle
to regard or portray as less impressive or important than appearances indicate; depreciate; disparage.
Origin of belittle
1Other words for belittle
Other words from belittle
- be·lit·tle·ment, noun
- be·lit·tler, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use belittle in a sentence
The press — both the tabloids and more credible, high-profile outlets — hounded women like Spears for disturbingly intimate details of their lives, then belittled and even villainized them for those very details.
Britney Spears and the trauma of being young, female and famous in the ’90s | Ashley Fetters | February 5, 2021 | Washington PostIt’s been used to elevate one man’s patriotism over another’s, to declare some parts of the country more authentically American than others, to belittle some people’s hurt while carefully nursing others through their pain.
And not only that, but (and I say this in solidarity, not belittlement) the African humidity had wreaked havoc on her hair.
Many of them surpass it in grandeur, and this belittlement of our globe shows a more sublime ideal of God.
Bouvard and Pcuchet, part 2 | Gustave FlaubertThis I call the danger of perfection, our possible belittlement through beauty.
The Teacher | George Herbert Palmer
It was their back-parlour misinterpretation and belittlement of Nature that made these modern Philistines worship her.
Too Old for Dolls | Anthony Mario LudoviciFor Archie they had, one and all, a sensitive affection and respect which recoiled from a word of belittlement.
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. XIX (of 25) | Robert Louis StevensonHe advised his followers to "play the game" and let the new member have his triumph without belittlement.
Carnac's Folly, Complete | Gilbert Parker
British Dictionary definitions for belittle
/ (bɪˈlɪtəl) /
to consider or speak of (something) as less valuable or important than it really is; disparage
to cause to make small; dwarf
Derived forms of belittle
- belittlement, noun
- belittler, noun
- belittlingly, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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