belittle — to make someone or something seem less important or impressive than they really are
Part of speech: VERB
Definition: to make someone or something seem less important or impressive than they really are
Pronunciation (IPA): /bɪˈlɪtl/
Example Sentences
- The boss loves to belittle his employees' ideas during meetings.
- Don't belittle yourself - your cooking is actually quite good!
- My cat seems to belittle my existence by ignoring me completely.
belittle
VERB[/bɪˈlɪtl/]
to make someone or something seem less important or impressive than they really are
He belittles her painting in front of everyone, calling it childish scribbles.
Giant commands 'BE LITTLE!' making someone feel small and unimportant
Don't belittle the little - even giants turn brittle
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🎤Pronunciation
🌳Etymology
Origin
From the prefix 'be-' (meaning to make or cause) combined with the adjective 'little' (meaning small). The word emerged in English in the late 18th century as a verb meaning to make something seem small or unimportant.
Breakdown
be- (cause to be) + little (small) = belittle (to make seem small or unimportant)
🎵Rhyme
🔗Collocations
📝Examples
“The boss loves to belittle his employees' ideas during meetings.”
“Don't belittle yourself - your cooking is actually quite good!”
“My cat seems to belittle my existence by ignoring me completely.”
“He tried to belittle her PhD by saying 'anyone can get one these days.'”
📚Related Words
Synonyms
Antonyms
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