Definition of "belittle" []

• To represent or speak of as contemptibly small or unimportant; disparage: a person who belittled our efforts to do the job right. (verb-transitive)
• To cause to seem less than another or little: The size of the office tower belittles the surrounding buildings. See Synonyms at decry. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "In this, great numbers of caves are hollowed out, and carvings are seen which suggest architectural forms, though on a scale so grand that architectural terms belittle them."
• "Roestorf further maintained that the commission proceedings should not be used to "belittle" any person testifying before it."
• "During the campaign, Nieves frequently took to the local radio airwaves to "belittle" Bell,"