(v. t.) To make little or less in a moral sense; to speak of in a depreciatory or contemptuous way.
Example Sentences:
(1) Harping on endlessly about a woman’s hair, legs and handbag instead of her ideas and achievements can be horribly belittling, a way of refusing to take her seriously as a professional.
(2) This is a dangerous moment for politics in Britain: it is not the moment to ignore or belittle the angry cry from voters telling us they are deeply sick of politics as usual.
(3) The more they feel insulted and belittled, the stronger their support for Corbyn.
(4) Comment is perfectly legitimate, but the sneering, supercilious, specious and dismissive contributions masquerading as ‘commentary’ belittle the claims of a ‘quality’ paper.” Before attempting to assess the validity of the reader’s analysis – broadly shared by some other readers – I think his email reflects one or two other interesting aspects of the demographics of the Guardian’s readership and the left.
(5) It happens within a society where we repeatedly hear victims dismissed, belittled and disbelieved at best, or, at worst,blamed for their own assaults.
(6) Perhaps Gove should attend some history lessons taught by the professionals he so belittles so that he can learn how to read and cite sources properly.
(7) That is not to belittle HIV – it is a life-changing condition, and some of the treatments have their side-effects – but, as HIV expert Prof Jonathan Weber put it to me, the treatment regimens developed in the mid-1990s are “so successful it’s like a miracle”.
(8) They had a candidate with pro-Putin, pro-Russian views who belittled Nato, who was willing to potentially remove sanctions on Russia and by contrast they had in Secretary Clinton a candidate very tough on Russia.
(9) Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said: "I regret the Australian PM statement belittling the phone-tapping in Indonesia without feeling guilty.
(10) The eccentric, gonzo-ish path that Vice has chosen to pursue instead has itself come in for sharp criticism from detractors among those he belittles as football-chasers.
(11) Modotti, Ollin and, to a lesser degree, Novo (who was ultimately a man and therefore less irritating to those in power), were cast aside and belittled by those who had it in their power to do so.
(12) He reacted angrily to a question about his father’s comments to the Guardian, claiming words were put in his mouth and accusing the media of trying to belittle the closure.
(13) The last Labour government sometimes appeared to belittle the concerns of those who were fearful of the pace of change, or longed for stability or order."
(14) It is acceptable to criticise and belittle Islam because it is a religion, not an ethnic grouping – and therefore fair game.
(15) "People belittled me, implying that it was my fault and that I shouldn't be an independent woman," she added.
(16) In 2010 Lula came under fire after belittling the plight of political prisoners on hunger strike in Cuba. "
(17) What strikes me, as it must have done him, is the way in which the intention behind the article – to belittle the food bank initiative – was turned on its head by the social media backlash.
(18) With no intention of belittling the importance of chronic ischemic heart disease (CIHD) in modern cardiology, the article focuses the attention on primary alcoholic heart disease--alcoholic cardiomyopathy (ACMP)--which arouses a far from causal interest due to the prevalence of alcoholism.
(19) In treating Plath as simply an object of sympathy, I suspect I have belittled her.
(20) Demirtas has been the target of fierce campaign attacks by Erdogan, who belittled him a “pretty boy” who is merely a front for the outlawed separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
Criticize
Definition:
Example Sentences:
(1) The newborn with critical AS typically presents with severe cardiac failure and the infant with moderate failure, whereas children may be asymptomatic.
(2) The hypothesis that proteins are critical targets in free radical mediated cytolysis was tested using U937 mononuclear phagocytes as targets and iron together with hydrogen peroxide to generate radicals.
(3) The interaction of the antibody with both the bacterial and the tissue derived polysialic acids suggests that the conformational epitope critical for the interaction is formed by both classes of compounds.
(4) Ursodeoxycholate was the only dihydroxy bile salt which was able to solubilize phospholipid (although not cholesterol) below the critical micellar concentration.
(5) The pathology resulting from a missense mutation at residue 403 further suggests that a critical function of myosin is disrupted by this mutation.
(6) The criticism over the downgrading of the leader of the Lords was led by Lord Forsyth of Drumlean, a former Scotland secretary, who is a respected figure on the right.
(7) Anaerobes, in particular Bacteroides spp., are the predominant bacteria present in mixed intra-abdominal infections, yet their critical importance in the pathogenicity of these infections is not clearly defined.
(8) Even former Florida governor Jeb Bush, one of Trump’s chief critics, said ultimately, “anybody is better than Hillary Clinton”.
(9) Also critical to Mr Smith's victory was the decision over lunch of the MSF technical union's delegation to abstain on the rule changes.
(10) Critics say he is unelectable as prime minister and will never be able to implement his plans, but he has nonetheless pulled attention back to an issue that many thought had gone away for good.
(11) The high incidence of infant astigmatism has implications for critical periods in human visual development and for infant acuity.
(12) It isn't share ownership but the way people are managed that's critical.
(13) GlaxoSmithKline was unusually critical of the decision by Nice, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, and also the Scottish Medicines Consortium, to reject its drug belimumab (brand name Benlysta) in final draft guidance.
(14) The present studies indicated that the critical level at which HbCO influenced VO2 max was approximately 4.3%.
(15) Brewdog backs down over Lone Wolf pub trademark dispute Read more The fast-growing Scottish brewer, which has burnished its underdog credentials with vocal criticism of how major brewers operate , recently launched a vodka brand called Lone Wolf.
(16) Last week the WHO said the outbreak had reached a critical point, and announced a $200m (£120m) emergency fund.
(17) Critical in this understanding are the subtle changes that occur in the individual patient, reflecting the natural history of the disease or response to its treatment.
(18) That’s a criticism echoed by Democrats in the Senate, who issued a report earlier this month criticising Republicans for passing sweeping legislation in July to combat addiction , the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (Cara), but refusing to fund it.
(19) He's called out for his lack of imagination in a stinging review by a leading food critic (Oliver Platt) and - after being introduced to Twitter by his tech-savvy son (Emjay Anthony) - accidentally starts a flame war that will lead to him losing his job.
(20) Critics of wind power peddle the same old myths about investment in new energy sources adding to families' fuel bills , preferring to pick a fight with people concerned about the environment, than stand up to vested interests in the energy industry, for the hard-pressed families and pensioners being ripped off by the energy giants.