Belittle - English meaning

verb

Criticize unfairly; disparage.

Usage examples:

Doom and gloom merchants who denigrate their own country

verb

To say that someone or something is not good or important

verb

Express disapproval of.

Usage examples:

What i deprecate is persistent indulgence

verb

To not approve of something or say that you do not approve of something

Usage examples:

We deprecate this use of company funds for political purposes., he always deprecates my achievements.

verb

To say that you think something is of little value or importance

Usage examples:

He always deprecates my achievements.

verb

Diminish in value over a period of time.

Usage examples:

The latest cars will depreciate heavily in the first year

verb

To cause something to lose value, esp. over time

Usage examples:

Malawi’s currency was rapidly depreciating., the dollar’s depreciation will lead to higher inflatio…

verb

When a company depreciates an asset, such as a piece of equipment, it reduces its value in its accounts over a certain length of time

Usage examples:

Machine tools are typically depreciated over seven years., the government allowed the currency to d…

verb

Regard or represent as being of little worth.

Usage examples:

He never missed an opportunity to disparage his competitors

verb

To criticize someone or something in a way that shows a lack of respect

Usage examples:

He disparages his business competitors, saying they are all a bunch of amateurs compared to him., m…

verb

To criticize someone or something in a way that shows you do not respect or value him, her, or it

Usage examples:

Be disparaged as the actor's work for charity has recently been disparaged in the press as an attem…

verb

Reduce to a lower grade, rank, or level of importance.

Usage examples:

Some jobs had gradually been downgraded from skilled to semi-skilled

noun

An instance of reducing someone or something's rank, status, or level of importance.

Usage examples:

Downgrades by debt-rating agencies outnumber upgrades by five to one

verb

To reduce someone or something to a lower rank or position; to make less important or less valued

Usage examples:

They threatened to downgrade my credit rating if i don’t pay the bill immediately.

idiom

Deal with a problem by laughing or pretending to be amused by it

phrasal verb

Dismiss something by treating it in a light-hearted way.

Usage examples:

He laughed off suggestions that the company was in trouble

phrasal verb

To pretend that something is less serious than it is

Usage examples:

The coach laughed off the idea that his team wasn't ready to play., she didn't get into the school …

idiom

To act as if something is not serious, esp. when it is serious

Usage examples:

They've both had knee injuries, but the two friends make light of their weaknesses.

verb

Reduce (something, especially something undesirable) to the smallest possible amount or degree.

Usage examples:

The aim is to minimize costs

verb

To reduce something to the smallest possible level or amount

Usage examples:

We do all that we can to minimize the risk of infection., he minimized his involvement in the scand…

verb

To reduce something to the smallest possible level or amount

Usage examples:

We rented an office in the cheap part of town to minimize costs., you should spread your investment…

phrase

Understate the importance or quality of

phrasal verb

Represent something as being less important than it in fact is.

Usage examples:

He tried to play down the seriousness of his illness

phrasal verb

To make something seem less important than or not as bad as it really is

Usage examples:

The doctor tried to play down the seriousness of my father’s illness, but we weren’t fooled.

verb

Make (something) seem less important, significant, or complex than it really is.

Usage examples:

The problem was either trivialized or ignored by teachers

verb

To make something unusual seem ordinary or unimportant

Usage examples:

My boss tends to take good ideas and trivialize them.

verb

Estimate (something) to be smaller or less important than it really is.

Usage examples:

They have grossly underestimated the extent of the problem

noun

An estimate that is too low.

Usage examples:

£7.5 million is a considerable underestimate

verb

To think that something is less or lower than it really is, or that someone is less strong or less effective

Usage examples:

Homeowners often underestimate the cost of repairing a roof.

verb

Underestimate the extent, value, or importance of (someone or something).

Usage examples:

They vastly underrate their own players

verb

To fail to recognize the importance, value, skill, power, etc., of someone or something

Usage examples:

Never underrate your opponent in a political contest.

verb

Rate (something) insufficiently highly; fail to appreciate.

Usage examples:

Through overfamiliarity, it is easy to undervalue this concerto

noun

A price below the real value.

Usage examples:

His truck was sold at an undervalue