What's the difference between belittling and condescending?

Belittling


Definition:

  • (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Belittle

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).

Condescending


Definition:

  • (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Condescend

Example Sentences:

  • (1) It somewhat condescendingly divides the population into 15 groups – among them, Terraced Melting Pot (“Lower-income workers, mostly young, living in tightly packed inner-urban terraces”), and Suburban Mind-sets (“Maturing families on mid-range incomes living a moderate lifestyle in suburban semis”).
  • (2) For instance the 'Sarah's Law' campaign there were quite a lot of people who were quite condescending ... and actually the public were quite worried about this.
  • (3) At stake: rice cakes, a gift basket, and a somewhat condescending hockey puck.
  • (4) The somewhat condescending implication is: "You'll all get there in the end."
  • (5) This weekend the very accomplished Rona Fairhead, former FT chief executive and now the government’s choice to be the new chair of the BBC Trust, was described namelessly in a Telegraph headline as “mother of three.” It was decidedly reminiscent of that Sunday Times front page headline in April, “Grandmother, 71, tackles slave traffickers for the Pope” , sparking condescending mental images of a sweet little ol’ granny pummelling evil-doers with her cane.
  • (6) It is snobbish and condescending to mock any creative or practical manual work.
  • (7) Taken out of context, and interspersed with condescending comments to backbench MPs, Cameron's quote is entirely misleading."
  • (8) But the condescending tone of the letter, which suggested that Iranians do not understand the American political process, provoked harsh words from both the Obama administration and even Iran’s foreign minister.
  • (9) You could say that acceptance of homosexuality became one of the key measures of modernity long before societies like ours in Britain condescended to update their anti-gay structures.
  • (10) That, I wanted to write about - in a sense it sounds condescending, and I don't mean it quite this way - I wanted to write about the way popular culture is an inheritor of something else.
  • (11) Since having come back to London, I've spoken to a few of these rare exotic birds – the Femaleus footballus writerus – and all have stories of casual sexism: being mistaken for tea ladies in the press centre; being condescended to by managers in press conferences; being demoted by their bosses when they have children, which is most definitely not a problem in the more female-dominated fashion business.
  • (12) And it would be nothing short of condescending for screenwriter Aaron Sorkin and director David Fincher to have concocted some fictional spunky-girl nerd character or a wise female comp sci professor in an attempt to make their film more female-friendly.
  • (13) Gravity was a huge, old-fashioned spectacle of a film, a terrific experience, superb in its simplicity and Barnumesque flair for movie showmanship, but it has been dismissed in some quarters (rather condescendingly) because of the alleged hokiness of its dialogue and characterisation.
  • (14) Tedros said the ICC was "condescending" towards the continent.
  • (15) When they resisted, he rounded on them with a mix of expletives, threats and condescending insults, including the poisonous utterance "pleb".
  • (16) The people in the villages of Los Negros seem to be puzzled, confused and, in some cases, fearful of the developments at Lombrum … It is a shame that this has happened because it could easily have been avoided.” The report blames in part the culture gap between local people and the predominantly military, police and security types working at the centre, whose behaviour was noticeably condescending and whose physical appearance villagers found intimidating.
  • (17) We were totally opposed, totally patronised, totally condescended and actually vilified, really.” She described how she was branded “Harriet Harperson” and “hapless Harriet” while arguing for basic changes that are now considered the norm, such as men getting time off when their babies are born.
  • (18) What's more is that Sorkin's already been called out this year for his condescending treatment of Globe and Mail reporter Sarah Prickett , who he famously referred to as "internet girl" at a press conference.
  • (19) Sadly, you can't read those ancient lines now without hearing them uttered in that patiently condescending voice.
  • (20) I just thought it was a jaw-droppingly condescending way of treating someone who is just proudly hanging some flags outside their home.