belittle

[ bih-lit-l ]

verb (used with object)

, be·lit·tled, be·lit·tling.

1. to regard or portray as less little impressive or important than appearances indicate; depreciate; disparage.

   Synonyms: dismiss, scorn, deride, deprecate, decry, minimize

belittle

/ bɪˈlɪtəl /

verb

1. to consider or speak of (something) as less valuable or important than it really is; disparage
2. to cause to make small; dwarf

Derived Forms

• beˈlittler, noun
• beˈlittlingly, adverb
• beˈlittlement, noun

Other Words From

• be·little·ment noun
• be·littler noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of belittle¹

An Americanism dating back to 1775–85; be- + little

Example Sentences

That would be quite a flex for a guy the world watched drop to the end of the first round on draft day and who was then forced to sit for three years behind an insecure superstar who belittled and disrespected him when he wasn’t ignoring him.

From FiveThirtyEight

Male servers were favored over women, who were belittled in front of guests and not given prime tables, the probe found.

From Washington Post

While capable of great charm and generosity, he often seemed to undercut himself with a confrontational, gruff and belittling manner that many found offensive.

From Washington Post

Q believers see themselves as soldiers fighting for the ultimate cause—and are surrounded by people who validate them, rather than insult or belittle them, or try to fact-check them out of what they think is real.

From Time

Supervisors curse them out and belittle and bully them, they say.

From Washington Post

And he is probably right to belittle the current round of talks.

From The Daily Beast

Hand it off to a hen-pecked husband or a put-upon assistant and it can demean or belittle.

From The Daily Beast

Yet, Western intelligence tends to belittle them as a bunch of bluffers.

From The Daily Beast

The Fox News host seemed to belittle Laura Ingraham during an on-air clash about same-sex marriage.

From The Daily Beast

This is not a time to complain about or belittle this shift, or, as with Kotkin, to pretend that it is not even taking place.

From The Daily Beast

She was very woman, and the look of the thing was not nice to her eyes, while it must belittle her in theirs.

From Project Gutenberg

This is supposed to refer to an altercation between these two gods, in which they tried to belittle each other.

From Project Gutenberg

The man who shuns realities because they belittle him is on the wrong road; he is hopelessly lost from the beginning.

From Project Gutenberg

When they have won the praise of men, pride leads them on to belittle the work of other men and to applaud their own.

From Project Gutenberg

Weve278 been thundered at, frightened, cursed, and every agency has united to belittle us in our own eyes.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• criticize
• decry
• deride
• discredit
• disparage
• downplay
• scorn
• underestimate