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belittle

Syllabification: (be·lit·tle)
Pronunciation: /biˈlitl/
Translate belittle | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of belittle

verb

[with object]
  • make (someone or something) seem unimportant:this is not to belittle his role she felt belittled

Derivatives

belittlement

noun

belittler

noun

Origin:

late 18th century: a coinage of Thomas Jefferson originally meaning 'diminish in size, make small'; the current sense dates from the very end of the 18th century

belittle in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of belittle in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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