belittling

[ bih-lit-l ]

SEE DEFINITION OF belittling

verbdetract

Antonyms for belittling

MOST RELEVANT

EXAMPLES FROM THE WEB FOR BELITTLING

It was almost a disappointment—a belittling of his recent experience.

A woman must understand that she lowers herself by belittling her sisters.

It is almost like belittling the greatest of marvels to call it a stroke of genius.

It would be too belittling, too disparaging of self-respect.

But the expression just used must not be taken as belittling.

His eagerness to advance his own cause should never lead him into belittling them.

The worth of his evidence must be discredited by belittling the disturbing witness.

That's a little and belittling way the world has with all who wish to save it.

When a Chinaman wishes to pay a compliment, he does so by belittling himself and his belongings.

We object here to the tendency of belittling the human mind.

WORD ORIGIN

1781, "to make small," from be- + little (v.); first recorded in writings of Thomas Jefferson (and probably coined by him), who was roundly execrated for it in England:

Jefferson used it to characterize Buffon's view that American life was stunted by nature, which he was refuting. The figurative sense of "depreciate, scorn as worthless" (as the reviewers did to this word) is from 1797. Related: Belittled; belittling.