What's the difference between belittlement and condescension?

Belittlement


Definition:

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).

Condescension


Definition:

  • (n.) The act of condescending; voluntary descent from one's rank or dignity in intercourse with an inferior; courtesy toward inferiors.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) A series of hierarchical multiple regressions revealed the effects of Surgency, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, and Intellect on evoking upset in spouses through condescension (e.g., treating spouse as stupid or inferior), possessiveness (demanding too much time and attention), abuse (slapping spouse), unfaithfulness (having sex with others), inconsiderateness (leaving toilet seat up), moodiness (crying a lot), alcohol abuse (drinking too much alcohol), emotional constriction (hiding emotions to act tough), and self-centeredness (acting selfishly).
  • (2) The debate highlighted almost all of Obama's worst qualities: he seemed bored to the point of condescension, particular to the point of testiness, and proved for the hundredth or so time that he is Worst.
  • (3) They are Americans, and they deserve your respect.” The chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC), Reince Priebus, echoed Pence in a statement, saying: “The truly deplorable thing in this race is the shameful level of condescension and disrespect Hillary Clinton is showing to her fellow citizens.” Trump, per his habit, initially responded on Twitter .
  • (4) But so far, I perceive a threatening mix of arrogance, self-infatuation and condescension.” It is tempting to see Podemos as a well-planned operation by a group of talented academics, following a populist script written by a line of radical thinkers, but that would be too simple.
  • (5) Not just because of her sheer endurance i n a nearly 11-hour filibuster, not just because she stood up to condescension and sexism, and not just because she did it all with aplomb and grace.
  • (6) In both cases it comes with great lashes of condescension and a lack of knowledge about the countries one is imposing on.
  • (7) For every cockle-warming group hug, there's Tambor, spewing bile and condescension; for every small child bursting winsomely into song, there he is again, a snout-nosed vision of pompous self-delusion.
  • (8) The condescension is reminiscent of the musings of Ignatius J Reilly, the hapless protagonist of John Kennedy Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces, regarding African Americans apparent conservatism.
  • (9) It is suffused with a defiant positivity that shatters any notion of condescension towards disabled competitors.
  • (10) For much of a career spanning more than 60 years, the writer Elizabeth Jane Howard , who has died aged 90, suffered a certain condescension from literary editors as a writer of "women's novels".
  • (11) A mournful waltz written from the perspective of a bereaved mother, it’s an anti-war pop song that successfully treads the line between compassion and condescension.
  • (12) Russia supports Assad not primarily as a political friend and ally – the chill and condescension in Putin’s demeanour during Assad’s flying visit to Moscow last October should have given the lie to that – but because, in the view of Putin and his advisers, Assad is all that stands between Syria and chaos.
  • (13) He was much later described by his housemaster with wonderful condescension as "a model boy, though quite undistinguished".
  • (14) His condescension is metered, however; the softer the voice and the more words delivered per minute, the greater his levels of scorn.
  • (15) In addition to standard college newspaper fare – an essay about town-gown relations in which Miller details the “ condescension ” inherent in giving a janitor a birthday card – Miller’s 25 columns, written between September 2005 and April 2007, frequently touch on hot-button issues.
  • (16) His review is so much fun, it's worth quoting more: "V For Vendetta is such an odd mixture: partly naive post-punk posturing, betraying the original's 1981 origins, and partly well-meant (but very American) condescension towards London and Britain.
  • (17) Americans don't have passports, we don't meet many foreigners, and we think proper English diction is an indicator of condescension or homosexuality.
  • (18) Yet, to judge by his recent rant in the Daily Mail against "Marxist" professors, his head-butting with the unions and his condescension on Question Time to the shadow attorney general, he clearly revels in letting off fusillades against anyone who disagrees with him on education.
  • (19) I tell him that I always associated those protests, indeed that time, with political failure, remembering above all the muddle, the lack of a programme, the big, angry “no” to globalisation giving way to a surrendered, “Well, ok then, so long as you promise that corporate capture won’t kill anybody (that I know).” Iglesias disagrees entirely, which is unlike him – his preferred conversational mode is to respond to every question with “exactly” or “absolutely”, a sort of emollient, un-left-ish manner with maybe the faintest whiff of condescension.
  • (20) Just as storied designated players swiftly find that when the initial burst of selfies and ad campaigns runs out, they’re only as good as their performances for their new teams, coaches can expect to be scrutinized for any whiff of condescension to their new environment, and held to a particularly high standard accordingly.