The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
belittle — (v.) 1781, to make small, from BE (Cf. be ) + LITTLE (Cf. little) (v.); first recorded in writings of Thomas Jefferson (and probably coined by him), who was roundly execrated for it in England: Belittle! What an expression! It may be an elegant… … Etymology dictionary
belittle — is, to the surprise of many, an Americanism, disapproved of by Fowler (1926) as an ‘undesirable alien’, at least in its meaning ‘decry, depreciate’. • (Never belittle anything that your patients earnestly believe Oxford Companion to US History,… … Modern English usage
belittle — index cavil, condescend (patronize), contemn, decry, defame, demean (make lower), demote, denigrate … Law dictionary
belittle — depreciate, disparage, derogate, detract, minimize, *decry Analogous words: underestimate, undervalue, underrate (see base words at ESTIMATE): diminish, reduce, lessen, *decrease Antonyms: aggrandize, magnify Contrasted words: *exalt: heighten,… … New Dictionary of Synonyms
belittle — [v] detract bad mouth, blister, criticize, cut down to size*, cut to the quick*, decry, deprecate, depreciate, deride, derogate, diminish, discount, discredit, disparage, dispraise, downgrade, downplay, dump on*, knock*, lower, minimize, pan,… … New thesaurus
belittle — ► VERB ▪ dismiss as unimportant … English terms dictionary
belittle — ☆ belittle [bē lit′ l, bilit′ l ] vt. belittled, belittling [coined ( c. 1780) by JEFFERSON Thomas] to make seem little, less important, etc.; speak slightingly of; depreciate SYN. DISPARAGE belittlement n. belittler n … English World dictionary
belittle — [[t]bɪlɪ̱t(ə)l[/t]] belittles, belittling, belittled VERB If you belittle someone or something, you say or imply that they are unimportant or not very good. [V n] We mustn t belittle her outstanding achievement... [V n] It makes no sense to… … English dictionary
belittle — UK [bɪˈlɪt(ə)l] / US verb [transitive] Word forms belittle : present tense I/you/we/they belittle he/she/it belittles present participle belittling past tense belittled past participle belittled to say or think that someone or something is… … English dictionary
belittle — See belittle, disparage … Dictionary of problem words and expressions
