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
-
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:
Chinese diplomats told the Journal that the staging wasn’t meant to belittle Putin in any way.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
Chinese diplomats told me the staging wasn’t meant to belittle Putin; viewed from the front, they said, the two figures take roughly equal share of the picture’s frame.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 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
Although he celebrated intensely, Crawford did not belittle Álvarez, acknowledging the quality of the former champion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2025
“It brings solace. It binds us as a community. Do not belittle our traditions because one day they may be yours.”
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
Tanya Reynolds offers a broader glimpse of Caroline Bingley, a character who often belittles Mary.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2026
It saddens me to say but relegation may be the only way forward to rescue this club from the poor quality ownership that belittles this once proud club.
From BBC ● Jan. 3, 2026
“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
“Not monster movies. My sister, as usual, belittles my chosen medium. Want to know the tide?”
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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
The person in front signals, “I’m in charge, you follow me,” while the one behind feels belittled.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 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
McCurry never belittled anyone, though occasionally the Bigfoot questions would cause other reporters to snicker.
From Salon ● Oct. 24, 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
And the teenage provocateur made no secret of that revulsion, loudly belittling his fellow students.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2025
Dr. Chernin acknowledged how stressful those conversations can be, sometimes deteriorating into finger-pointing, belittling or stonewalling.
From New York Times ● May 17, 2024
Drake responded with Push Ups, belittling Lamar's achievements and status as a rap legend. That track currently sits on more than 70 million streams on Spotify.
From BBC ● May 14, 2024
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.
