Dictionary

belittle en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /bɪˈlɪt.əl/ (UK, US)
• (Australia) audio
• (US) audio

Etymology

From be- + little. Coined by Thomas Jefferson in 1782.

Meanings

1. (ambitransitive) To disparage, depreciate, or minimize the importance, value, merit, or significance of someone or something.
   • Don't belittle your colleagues.
   • For many of us, the realization that people in power, regardless of political party, would belittle, name call and seek retribution has been a shock. 2025 April 11, Carol Burton, “What We Believed About America”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 11 Apr 2025:
   • Under the rules as understood by the New York Times, the West is free to mock and belittle its Judeo-Christian inheritance, and, likewise, the Muslim world is free to mock and belittle the West's Judeo-Christian inheritance. 2006, Mark Steyn, chapter 9, in America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It, →ISBN, page 201:
   • An essential part of any German campaign is obviously the efficiency of its lines of communication and therefore it is dangerous to belittle our enemy's strength in this direction. 1941 March, “Notes and News: Underestimating the Enemy's Strength”, in Railway Magazine, page 129:
2. (transitive) To make small.
   • Now, the big blue space of river and sky belittled him, ulled him back into bewildered childhood. 2022, Ian McEwan, Lessons, page 357:

Forms

Antonyms

exaggerate · three-sheet · overdo · overstate · overemphasize · exaggerate · play up · cut it fat · overcharge · hyperbolize · big up · stretch · big up

Deriveds

belittling · belittled · belittler · belittlement · unbelittled

Synonyms

reduce · downplay · underplay · trivialize · bagatellize · denigrate · diminish · lessen · abase · cut down · dispraise · deprecate · abase · vilipend · understate · minimize · embase · foreshorten · abase · derogate · bagatellize · decrement · play down · understate · make little of · banalize · denigrate · trivialize · disparage · minimize · shrink · degrade · underestimate · downplay · decrease · make light of · besmall · smallify · deprecate · degrade · make nothing of · mince · lower · de-emphasize · bring down · cut · smallify · set at nought · belittle · lilliputianize · abate · play down · belittle · superficialize · besmall · disparage · lilliputianize

Translations (64)

pl zlekceważyć (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · hy նվազեցնել (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · de schmälern (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · fr rabaisser (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · ro minimaliza (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · pt depreciar (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · fi vähätellä (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · ar اِحْتَقَرَ (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · ja 矮小化する (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · tr küçümsemek (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · de herunterspielen (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · ca menystenir (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · mk омаловажува (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · ru недооце́нивать (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · pl zbagatelizować (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · es minimizar (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · es empequeñecer (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · ru преуменьша́ть (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · ml ഇകഴ്ത്തുക (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · nb fornedre (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · sv förminska (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · oc mespresar (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · oc despreciar (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · oc denigrar (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · ota آشاغیلامق (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · ml കൊച്ചാക്കുക (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · it sminuire (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · ca menystindre (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · de herabsetzen (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · mi tānoa (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · es disminuir (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · sv förringa (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · uk прини́зити (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · nl afkraken (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · ja 軽視する (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · ru занижа́ть (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · oc rebaissar (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · tl maliit (maliitin) (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · hy պակասեցնել (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · nb bagatellisere (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · cs bagatelizovat (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · bg омаловажавам (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · ru принижа́ть (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · ar صَغَّرَ (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · fr déprécier (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · es menospreciar (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · nl kleineren (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · cs shazovat (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · ja 侮る (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · uk прини́жувати (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · de kleinreden (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · cmn 貶低 /贬低 (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · hu bagatellizál (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · nb nedvurdere (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · ro deprecia (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · ru умаля́ть (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · ca menysprear (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · pl bagatelizować (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · cmn 輕視 /轻视 (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · hu elbagatellizál (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · gl menosprezar (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · hu lekicsinyel (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · de verniedlichen (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is) · pl lekceważyć (to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is)