Explore Belittle through 10+ example sentences from English, with an explanation of the meaning and related words like disparage or lessen. Ideal for language learners, writers and word enthusiasts.
Belittle meaning
- To knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is, especially as a way of showing contempt or deprecation.
- To make small.
Synonyms of Belittle
Using Belittle
- The main meaning on this page is: To knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is, especially as a way of showing contempt or deprecation. | To make small.
- Useful related words include: disparage, pick at, lessen, decrease.
- In the example corpus, belittle often appears in combinations such as: to belittle, belittle the, and belittle.
Context around Belittle
- Average sentence length in these examples: 23.4 words
- Position in the sentence: 4 start, 12 middle, 4 end
- Sentence types: 19 statements, 1 questions, 0 exclamations
Corpus analysis for Belittle
- In this selection, "belittle" usually appears in the middle of the sentence. The average example has 23.4 words, and this corpus slice is mostly made up of statements.
- Around the word, denigrate, civilians, anybody and choppa stand out and add context to how "belittle" is used.
- Recognizable usage signals include appeared to belittle choppa by and attempt to belittle and intimidate. That gives this page its own corpus information beyond isolated example sentences.
- By corpus frequency, "belittle" sits close to words such as abduct, acetylcholine and adeosun, which helps place it inside the broader word index.
Example types with belittle
The same corpus examples are grouped by length and sentence type, making it easier to see the contexts in which the word appears:
He called the young man stupid and continued to belittle him,” claimed Sharples. (13 words)
The generals of the Pakistan Army are always in a mood to belittle civilians. (14 words)
He should not belittle our level of intelligence” and advised him to own his confession. (15 words)
She said: "That's not to belittle the effects verbal abuse can have on employees but we need to know what we are talking about so that we know what support is best to put in place," she said. (39 words)
On Friday, Lightfoot contended her remarks about Pilsen’s resurgence were “not fulsome” and she never meant to belittle the problems faced by longtime residents, many of them working-class Mexican American people, being priced out by new development. (39 words)
Ray Fisher tweeted: “During the LA reshoots for Justice League, Geoff Johns summoned me to his office to belittle and admonish my (and my agent’s) attempts to take grievances up the proper chain of command. (36 words)
Would you belittle anybody else for what they wear or would you thank them for coming and paying their respects? (20 words)
Example sentences (20)
He should not belittle our level of intelligence” and advised him to own his confession.
The generals of the Pakistan Army are always in a mood to belittle civilians.
Would you belittle anybody else for what they wear or would you thank them for coming and paying their respects?
As Bell continued, he appeared to belittle Choppa by throwing his NFL career in his face.
In her complaint, filed October 30, the Houston native accused the blogger of waging a campaign to “denigrate, belittle, insult, and spread false statements” about her regarding the Tory Lanez shooting.
Jesse Hogan isn’t trying to belittle the Coleman Medal when he calls it a “cool little accolade”.
Rambabu alleged that Pawan Kalyan deliberately designed the role and dance sequence to insult and belittle him.
She said: "That's not to belittle the effects verbal abuse can have on employees but we need to know what we are talking about so that we know what support is best to put in place," she said.
Still, I’m turned off by those who belittle the possibility of a formless intelligence underlying the cosmos.
We meet no-nonsense Aliyah, “difficult to belittle”, who escapes a traumatic past to reinvent both her life and a rundown property in rural New South Wales.
Lili Reinhart intentions were not to belittle the blm movement it was to bring more attention to it.
On Friday, Lightfoot contended her remarks about Pilsen’s resurgence were “not fulsome” and she never meant to belittle the problems faced by longtime residents, many of them working-class Mexican American people, being priced out by new development.
Ray Fisher tweeted: “During the LA reshoots for Justice League, Geoff Johns summoned me to his office to belittle and admonish my (and my agent’s) attempts to take grievances up the proper chain of command.
She has alleged to the Department of Finance that Mr Tudge engaged in workplace bullying, saying he would humiliate and belittle her.
Some 29 per cent reported "persistent attempts to belittle or undermine your work" by their supervisor, 44 per cent experienced this by a colleague, and 38 per cent said their supervisor withheld "necessary information".
The party is looking sheepish, squirming and desperate, as they try to belittle Labour's support for tackling child hunger.
Calling out bad behaviour and holding those who harass and belittle women to account is essential for society if we are to achieve true equality.
He called the young man stupid and continued to belittle him,” claimed Sharples.
He recalls the days when Kaufman used to belittle and then wrestle with women delivering UPS packages to the Taxi set.
I have always ignored with pain and regret all the previous vituperation and his attempt to belittle and intimidate this state and our leadership.
Common combinations with belittle
These word pairs occur most frequently in English texts: