belittle


Also found in: Thesaurus.

be·lit·tle

 (bĭ-lĭt′l)
tr.v. be·lit·tled, be·lit·tling, be·lit·tles
1. To represent or speak of as unimportant or contemptible: a person who belittled our efforts to do the job right. See Synonyms at disparage.
2. To cause to seem little or smaller than something else: "Away on the very edge of the cliffs, close under the sky, were pines, belittled by distance" (Stewart Edward White).

be·lit′tle·ment n.
be·lit′tler n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

belittle

(bɪˈlɪtəl)
vb (tr)
1. to consider or speak of (something) as less valuable or important than it really is; disparage
2. to cause to make small; dwarf
beˈlittlement n
beˈlittler n
beˈlittlingly adv
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

be•lit•tle

(bɪˈlɪt l)

v.t. -tled, -tling.
to regard or portray as less impressive or important than appearances indicate; disparage.
[1775–85, Amer.]
be•lit′tle•ment, n.
be•lit′tler, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

belittle


Past participle: belittled
Gerund: belittling

Imperative
belittle
belittle
Present
I belittle
you belittle
he/she/it belittles
we belittle
you belittle
they belittle
Preterite
I belittled
you belittled
he/she/it belittled
we belittled
you belittled
they belittled
Present Continuous
I am belittling
you are belittling
he/she/it is belittling
we are belittling
you are belittling
they are belittling
Present Perfect
I have belittled
you have belittled
he/she/it has belittled
we have belittled
you have belittled
they have belittled
Past Continuous
I was belittling
you were belittling
he/she/it was belittling
we were belittling
you were belittling
they were belittling
Past Perfect
I had belittled
you had belittled
he/she/it had belittled
we had belittled
you had belittled
they had belittled
Future
I will belittle
you will belittle
he/she/it will belittle
we will belittle
you will belittle
they will belittle
Future Perfect
I will have belittled
you will have belittled
he/she/it will have belittled
we will have belittled
you will have belittled
they will have belittled
Future Continuous
I will be belittling
you will be belittling
he/she/it will be belittling
we will be belittling
you will be belittling
they will be belittling
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been belittling
you have been belittling
he/she/it has been belittling
we have been belittling
you have been belittling
they have been belittling
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been belittling
you will have been belittling
he/she/it will have been belittling
we will have been belittling
you will have been belittling
they will have been belittling
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been belittling
you had been belittling
he/she/it had been belittling
we had been belittling
you had been belittling
they had been belittling
Conditional
I would belittle
you would belittle
he/she/it would belittle
we would belittle
you would belittle
they would belittle
Past Conditional
I would have belittled
you would have belittled
he/she/it would have belittled
we would have belittled
you would have belittled
they would have belittled
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Verb1.belittle - cause to seem less serious; play down; "Don't belittle his influence"
disparage, belittle, pick at - express a negative opinion of; "She disparaged her student's efforts"
talk down - belittle through talk
2.belittle - express a negative opinion of; "She disparaged her student's efforts"
criticise, criticize, pick apart, knock - find fault with; express criticism of; point out real or perceived flaws; "The paper criticized the new movie"; "Don't knock the food--it's free"
tear apart, trash, pan - express a totally negative opinion of; "The critics panned the performance"
discredit, disgrace - damage the reputation of; "This newspaper story discredits the politicians"
depreciate, vilipend, deprecate - belittle; "The teacher should not deprecate his student's efforts"
belittle, denigrate, derogate, minimize - cause to seem less serious; play down; "Don't belittle his influence"
3.belittle - lessen the authority, dignity, or reputation ofbelittle - lessen the authority, dignity, or reputation of; "don't belittle your colleagues"
minify, decrease, lessen - make smaller; "He decreased his staff"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

belittle

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

belittle

verb
To think, represent, or speak of as small or unimportant:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
يُقَلِّل من قيمَة
shazovatsnižovatznevažovat
bagatelliserenedvurdere
vähätellä
kicsinyellekicsinyel
gera lítiî úr
menkintisumenkinti
noniecināt
znevážiť
küçük görmekküçültmekküçümsemek

belittle

[bɪˈlɪtl] VT (= demean) → menospreciar; (= minimize) → quitar importancia a, minimizar
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

belittle

[bɪˈlɪtəl] vt [+ person, achievement] → déprécier, rabaisser
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

belittle

vtherabsetzen, heruntermachen (inf); achievement alsoschmälern; to belittle oneselfsich schlechter machen, als man ist
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

belittle

[bɪˈlɪtl] vtsminuire
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

belittle

(biˈlitl) verb
to make to seem unimportant (usually by harsh criticism). She belittled his achievements.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
References in classic literature ?
Such influences have sometimes seemed to belittle those who are the subject of them, at the least to be likely to narrow the range of their sympathies.
I understand that you belittle all sentiments of generosity and kindliness, but I do not, and I can convince your most doughty warrior that these characteristics are not incompatible with an ability to fight."
Wouldst even belittle the act which we all witnessed?
"Dave, I wasn't meaning to belittle that science; I was only chaffing-- chattering, I reckon I'd better say.
Rather it was the city person's point of view he was inclined to belittle. He had the confidence in his superiority that comes from complete economic security and his pride of place was even more deeply rooted.
But the famous boxing trainer Freddie Roach hit it hot in referring to the slurpy food condiment to belittle WBA super welterweight champion Keith Thurman.
The horrifying pictures of dead bodies of Oscar Alberto Martinez and her infant daughter in muddy waters of Rio Grande belittle great America in its failure to resolve migrant crisis.
"I said, 'That's not very nice, Atakan, you should not be like that.' "Karine said, 'He does it all the time.' "He said, 'But it's true, isn't it, Karine?'." Mrs Love also claimed Atakan had made comments to her about Atay and would belittle her.
LABOUR MP Chris Bryant has said he would not belittle "battered and bruised" MPs if he becomes the next Speaker.
The cardinal said in truth, the bully, who uses power to belittle others, is the one who is most afraid and insecure.
Condemning today's terror attack on the Chinese Consulate in Karachi, he tweeted: 'Our enemies operating through their proxies want to belittle and disparage our success in war on terror.
Condemning terror attack on the Chinese Consulate in Karachi, he tweeted: 'Our enemies operating through their proxies want to belittle and disparage our success in war on terror.