BELITTLED Synonyms: 63 Similar and Opposite Words

belittled

verb

past tense of belittle

as in dismissed

to express scornfully one's low opinion of belittled the action star's acting ability

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of belittled Trump publicly attacked and belittled Harris throughout their 2024 campaigns. — Becca Longmire, PEOPLE, 14 July 2026 Platner insulted members of the military and belittled Bronze Star winners. — Bobby Zirkin, Baltimore Sun, 9 July 2026 The Babylon Bee posted a satirical video suggesting that if a female president was mercurial — launching foreign wars, trade wars and petty feuds — and focusing on gewgaws and shoes, she’d be endlessly belittled. — Maureen Dowd, Mercury News, 23 June 2026 According to the suit, she was humiliated by fellow staff members and belittled due to her race, country of origin, religion and immigration status. — Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2026 Unlike some of her contemporaries (say, Lauryn Hill), Missy never rejected or belittled explicit markers of femme subjectivity. — Literary Hub, 9 Mar. 2026 What a disappointment to have something so joyous tarnished by a dreadful reality where women are being belittled & disrespected for existing. — Doha Madani, NBC news, 25 Feb. 2026 The president relentlessly criticized and belittled Powell, attempting to blame him for some of the discontent over the economy that followed the president’s own tariff announcements. — Christopher Rugaber, Chicago Tribune, 12 Jan. 2026 Paxton and Hunt belittled Cornyn’s border appearance. — Joseph Morton, Dallas Morning News, 9 Jan. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for belittled

Verb

Jason Melara’s attorney, Andrew Stein, asked the two murder charges be dismissed, telling Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Curtis Rappe there was no evidence his client pointed a gun at Aguilar.

— Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 11 July 2026
In 2023, researchers at MIT and elsewhere proposed that the bright white chunks scattered throughout Roman concrete—known as lime clasts and long dismissed as evidence of incomplete mixing—could help explain the material’s self-healing properties.

— Sam Macdonald, Scientific American, 11 July 2026

Definition of dismissed

Verb

In Lunas Campos’ case, officials from the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, initially minimized the incident that led to his death, pointing to his criminal history.

— Perla Trevizo, ProPublica, 3 July 2026
Context that undermines sensational allegations is minimized.

— Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 2 July 2026

Definition of minimized

Verb

The ocean’s abundance had been dramatically diminished, but few recreational fishermen noticed; their expectations had been downsized, too.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 July 2026
Kylian Mbappé’s powers were diminished in that tournament after sustaining a broken nose, while emerging stars like Michael Olise and Désiré Doué were yet to break through.

— James Robson, Chicago Tribune, 13 July 2026

Definition of diminished

Verb

His past medical reports have been criticized for offering limited detail and including statistics that some health professionals have viewed with skepticism.

— ABC News, ABC News, 14 July 2026
During the Democratic state convention in Corpus Christi last month, the Democratic candidate for governor, Gina Hinojosa, criticized Abbott.

— Jack Fink, CBS News, 14 July 2026

Definition of criticized

Verb

In recent months, the president has frequently disparaged Obama’s South Side Chicago presidential library, posting on Truth Social on June 13 an edited picture of its campus turned into a tent camp and the main building depicted as a trash can.

— Joseph Konig, PEOPLE, 1 July 2026
Pro-Cleveland newspapers disparaged Halpin’s character and ran reports that Blaine’s wife was pregnant before they were married.

— Tracy Grant, Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 June 2026

Definition of disparaged

Verb

In 2018, the court unequivocally repudiated its wartime decision that denigrated Japanese Americans.

— Tom Campbell, Oc Register, 4 July 2026
Butler was one of several key women in the history of environmental restoration who took advantage of the fact that botany was not entirely restricted to men—though this also meant that it was denigrated as a feminine pastime.

— The New Yorker, New Yorker, 4 July 2026

Definition of denigrated

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belittle

belittled

belittlement

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“Belittled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/belittled. Accessed 18 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of belittled

verb

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