(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).
Intimidate
Definition:
(v. t.) To make timid or fearful; to inspire of affect with fear; to deter, as by threats; to dishearten; to abash.
Example Sentences:
(1) The amount of intimidation and abuse that has taken place make it very unlikely that women will be clamouring to go back.” Another former shadow minister said they were also not convinced they would stand again.
(2) There, the US Joint Commission, an independent, non-profit organisation that accredits healthcare organisations and programmes has issued a standard on “behaviours that undermine a culture of safety” to tackle “intimidating and disruptive behaviour at work”.
(3) In these populations it is necessary to consider the relations between emotional distress and socio-political context, particularly the processes of terror and intimidation and the conditions of migratory illegality and social marginality.
(4) She said: “Begging can cause considerable concern to residents, workers and visitors, particularly those who feel intimidated by this activity.” In Merseyside, Ch Insp Mark Morgan insisted his force did not prosecute vulnerable people unless they were aggressive, repeat offenders who had failed to engage in offers of support.
(5) Diskerud has shown in flashes that he’s not intimidated by big games and is willing to try something.
(6) We’re fed up with being threatened and intimidated.
(7) A statement from al-Shabaab on Monday said the latest attack – the deadliest since Westgate – was revenge for the "Kenyan government's brutal oppression of Muslims in Kenya through coercion, intimidation and extrajudicial killings of Muslim scholars".
(8) The effort to intimidate investigators – and the apparent involvement of military police – has prompted calls for Brazil's justice ministry to declare an emergency.
(9) Reps are asked to sign a contract that includes the clause: “I will not promote the singing of abusive, offensive, crude or intimidating chants and songs.” The contract also asks reps to confirm that they are “the first representative of the University of Nottingham that new students will meet and therefore recognise that [they are] a role model”.
(10) It also said: “We should aim to break the right quickly, and teach those around us not to be intimidated by the rightwing’s longer years of service and apparently superior ‘Labour knowledge’ or prestige.” The July issue of the group’s newspaper, Solidarity, led with the headline “ Flood into the Labour party”.
(11) We express our strong opposition to any intimidating, coercive or provocative unilateral actions that could alter the status quo and increase tensions.” The G7 statement did not explicitly name China, but Beijing lays claim to almost all of the South China Sea despite conflicting partial claims from Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines.
(12) The tribunal said the conduct had "the effect of violating the claimant's dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment".
(13) He had told the court that Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea FC, had intimidated him to sell his share in the oil firm Sibneft at a massive discount.
(14) Donald Trump press ban: BBC, CNN and Guardian denied access to briefing Read more Rob Mahoney, deputy executive director of the CPJ , a nonprofit that promotes press freedom worldwide, told the Guardian Trump’s attacks on the press do not “help our work trying to deal with countries like Turkey, Ethiopia or Venezuela, where you have governments who want to nothing more than to silence and intimidate the press.” Mahoney also said attempts to favour conservative press outlets and declare the mainstream media the “enemy of the American people” looked like a deliberate effort by the White House to “inoculate itself from criticism”.
(15) I had all these brothers and uncles so I understood the nature of men and I didn't go in there feeling all intimidated.
(16) "They are happy because, at a time when talk of war, intimidation and aggression is exchanged between politicians, the name of Iran is spoken here through her glorious culture."
(17) He was at pains to rebut criticism in the western media over the jailing of journalists caught up in the long-running investigation into an attempted military coup and claims that the government has used the case to intimidate sections of the press.
(18) Today the Turkish government has levelled baseless and alarmingly false charges of ‘working on behalf of a terrorist organisation’ against three Vice News reporters, in an attempt to intimidate and censor their coverage,” Sutcliffe said.
(19) This whole affair was a brazen attempt to intimidate those who believe that drilling for oil in the melting Arctic is reckless and unsafe.
(20) Facebook Twitter Pinterest We will not be intimidated by Isis, says New York City mayor The city’s mayor, Bill de Blasio, appeared with police commissioner Bill Bratton in Times Square at 11pm to say there was “no specific or credible threat” to the city, dismissing the video as an “obvious attempt to intimidate the people of New York”.