(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).
Vilify
Definition:
(v. t.) To make vile; to debase; to degrade; to disgrace.
(v. t.) To degrade or debase by report; to defame; to traduce; to calumniate.
(v. t.) To treat as vile; to despise.
Example Sentences:
(1) Social workers are blamed and vilified, but we should be proud of what we do Read more “We have six seats for 11 people,” says Sarah Grade*, a children and families social worker based in south London.
(2) Social media has seized on the story, turning the Eastern Washington University’s professor of African studies into a figure vilified and mocked for cultural appropriation in the midst of fraught debates over transgender identity and police shootings of black people.
(3) What if the ad vilified African Americans, or Jews, or any other group for which public denigration is less permissible?
(4) As campaigns director for the pressure group, Oxley spent years vilifying government spending – with a special assault on development.
(5) Vilified, prosecuted, but – in the court of public opinion – ultimately vindicated: this is what happens to the heroes of democracy.
(6) David Wall: "Mark van Bommel has been wrongly vilified and miscast as a serial fouler.
(7) Some are starting to vilify and insult the disappeared students and demonise their parents and their demands,” said Hernández.
(8) Mark Field, the Conservative MP for the City of London and Westminster , said Hester had been "vilified" and warned that the intense row would put the best candidates off running the majority state-owned bank in the future.
(9) John Kerry , the US secretary of state, is vilified for continuing to insist that only negotiations can end the conflict – while simultaneously sidestepping the central question of Assad’s future – in line with Putin’s position.
(10) We are resigned to being blamed and vilified for the actions of any Muslim anywhere in the world.
(11) Instead, vilify and humiliate anybody who challenges – however meekly – the status quo.
(12) I was vilified, relentlessly, over 33 days, with over 800 hate emails ...
(13) His reputation was destroyed and he was vilified, he says.
(14) Barnaby Joyce defends halal after Coalition MPs express concern Read more “It is against the law to vilify Jews and it is not politically correct to denigrate blacks or gays.
(15) He remains popular despite efforts by Muslim groups to vilify him and is seen as the frontrunner in the election, though many voters are angry with him for evicting large numbers from slums to modernise Jakarta.
(16) Jayne Ozanne, a prominent campaigner for LGBT equality within the Anglican church, said: “Jeffrey is already a bishop in many of our eyes – he has been the ‘chief pastor’ to those of us who have felt discriminated against and vilified for the sake of our sexuality.
(17) Though he loves sport, he is now sworn off attending NFL matches at the MetLife stadium after attending a Jets v Titans game with his girlfriend and being “vilified from the parking lot to my seat for wearing a scarf”.
(18) Instead, we are vilified and made out to be money-grubbing if we complain about our working conditions.
(19) While ministers vilify people on benefits ( Freud sorry for comment about disabled people , 15 October), we urge everyone who thinks this is wrong to stand up for benefit justice.
(20) For decades they have been arbitrarily detained, denied education and livelihood, harassed, vilified in the media, and executed.