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
-
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:
Pugh told investigators hired by the national union that Regan continued to belittle her in meetings until she eventually resigned from the state council.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
Concerning headlines and poor results allow them to belittle the Welsh game, even in a playful way.
From BBC ● Mar. 6, 2026
“I will not belittle that one bit. But I will say, it’s the curse of a leader.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 20, 2026
"When you go overseas, respect the local customs and culture. You can choose not to eat it. There is no need to belittle our food," said one comment on Weibo.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2025
It don’t ask me to humble myself and belittle myself.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
“I think it belittles memory,” she says, wrinkling her nose in distaste at the still-standing house.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Tanya Reynolds offers a broader glimpse of Caroline Bingley, a character who often belittles Mary.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 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
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
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
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
In 1971, Steinem co-founded Ms. magazine, run exclusively by women, for women, and born from conversations with other women writers who’d grown exhausted with the belittling conventions and blind spots of male-dominated media.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 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
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
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.
