belittle
Americanverb (used with object)
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belittles,
present (3rd person singular)
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belittled,
past participle, past
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belittling
present participle
verb
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to consider or speak of (something) as less valuable or important than it really is; disparage
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to cause to make small; dwarf
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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belittlesimple
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belittlessimple
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have belittledperfect
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has belittledperfect
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am belittlingprogressive
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are belittlingprogressive
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is belittlingprogressive
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have been belittlingperfect progressive
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has been belittlingperfect progressive
Past
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belittledsimple
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had belittledperfect
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was belittlingprogressive
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were belittlingprogressive
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had been belittlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of belittle
Explanation
To belittle means to put down, or to make another person feel as though they aren't important. Saying mean things about another person literally makes them feel "little." To belittle someone is a cruel way of making someone else seem less important than yourself. A candidate for office might belittle his opponent by pointing out during a press conference that his fellow candidate has an inferior intellect. Belittling doesn't have to come in the form of verbal abuse. A manager who forces his administrative assistant to scrub his office floor with a toothbrush belittles her as well.
Vocabulary lists containing belittle
100 SAT Words Beginning with "B"
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Vocabulary from the Third and Final Presidential Debate, October 19, 2016
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This Week in Words: September 29 - October 5, 2018
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Both were quick to belittle the promises by their rival.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
"When you're in politics... or whatever your line of work, you should not be attacked personally. And certainly not AI used to belittle you."
From BBC ● Mar. 9, 2026
Taiwan declined to comment on its accuracy, but called it a “crude and clumsy” effort to divide Taiwanese society, belittle the government and hurt morale.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 15, 2026
“No artist, producer, director, or leader—regardless of legacy or celebrity—should be allowed to weaponize their platform to belittle, threaten, or devalue others without consequence. Period,” the letter states.
From Salon ● May 31, 2025
And so geologists took every pain they could think of to dismiss his evidence and belittle his suggestions.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
“He belittles their sorrow, making it about himself and his television ratings. It is cruel.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2024
“There will be no compromise with any party that challenges, belittles or violates Malaysian laws,” he said in a statement on Facebook.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 22, 2023
Ibsen’s heroine, Nora, initially seems naïve and dependent on her husband, but she becomes disillusioned with how he controls and belittles her.
From New York Times ● Feb. 22, 2023
"We are part of it and we will not spare any effort to defend it from anyone who abuses or belittles it."
From Reuters ● Feb. 19, 2023
“Not monster movies. My sister, as usual, belittles my chosen medium. Want to know the tide?”
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
The complainants alleged emails sent by Whitford were "dismissive, personalised and/or confrontational", did not address their concerns about the legality, safety and impact, and left them feeling "belittled and/or intimidated".
From BBC ● Apr. 27, 2026
It is fascinating to me that Thomas, who genuinely feels belittled by every single thing that has ever happened to him, has somehow gotten smaller on the job.
From Slate ● Apr. 17, 2026
US President Donald Trump said Friday that Colombian President Gustavo Petro, a leftist his administration long belittled, will visit the White House next month as he voiced optimism for ties.
From Barron's ● Jan. 9, 2026
It prompts other team members to drop out of the discussion or withhold information, fearing that they will be belittled if they speak up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 19, 2025
The Party shall continue unabated, in full festival Mode, for some few weeks thereafter, or until the belittled Pestilence has run its course through the Assembled.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson
Playing jokes and pranks, it needs to be amusing and not belittling, obviously.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
Issues with team culture were also identified, with "numerous reports" of some senior staff not being supportive, and, at times, belittling junior colleagues.
From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2026
Given that AI uses a tremendous amount of energy and water, public servants should be applying it towards solving society’s most intractable problems, not creating racist tropes or belittling people for exercising their democratic rights.
From Salon ● Nov. 29, 2025
And the teenage provocateur made no secret of that revulsion, loudly belittling his fellow students.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2025
It probably seemed like I was belittling a moment they'd been waiting years to experience.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
