BELITTLEMENT Synonyms: 42 Similar and Opposite Words

belittlement

noun

Definition of belittlement

as in criticism

the act of making a person or a thing seem little or unimportant an unconscionable belittlement of his assistant in public

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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 belittlement During Season 10, a newly confident Batula — who seemed to despise Cooke from the first minute of the premiere episode — appeared to be poised to launch a triumphant post-divorce arc, free at last from Cooke’s belittlement and verbal abuse. — Kate Aurthur, Variety, 29 June 2026 Apolline may embrace the social media aspects of her career but George’s belittlement rankles her. — Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor, 14 Aug. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for belittlement

Noun

Vucic has pushed hard against the protesters as the government faced international criticism over police violence and arbitrary detentions of demonstrators.

— ABC News, ABC News, 5 Sep. 2026
His political interests would be served if Republicans were to stop attacking Carlson and if Carlson were to tone down his criticism of the GOP.

— Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of criticism

Noun

Iamaleava could have allowed the disparagement to compound, but the starting signal-caller is using it as fuel for a 2026 season where many have the Bruins painted as a potential dark horse.

— Connor Dullinger, Los Angeles Times, 20 Aug. 2026
Her mother, meanwhile, is backed up by her second husband (Kwon), a mild-mannered documentary filmmaker whose profession gives his wife yet more ammunition in her smiling disparagement of Sanghee.

— Guy Lodge, Variety, 15 Aug. 2026

Definition of disparagement

Noun

That drew condemnation in the volatile region that remains ethnically divided more than three decades after the war, which started when Bosnia's Serbs took control over swaths of the country's territory to form their own state.

— ABC News, ABC News, 3 Sep. 2026
Police shot at an unarmed crowd protesting apartheid pass laws on March 21, 1960, and drew international condemnation.

— Michelle Gumede, Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of condemnation

Noun

Newsom’s defamation case against Fox News The governor’s $787-million defamation suit against Fox News is set for a March 6, 2028, trial, potentially colliding with a presidential run.

— Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2026
Just less than two years after Dan Schneider was given a green light on his Quiet on Set defamation lawsuit against Warner Bros Discovery and others, a trio of appeal judges has handed the former Nickelodeon producer a big defeat.

— Dominic Patten, Deadline, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of defamation

Noun

All of us speaking the same language, all of us unabashedly sharing our love of the show without fear of ridicule.

— Christopher Watson, ABC News, 8 Sep. 2026
Trump’s hair has long been the subject of ridicule from his critics, with comedian Rosie O’Donnell in August alleging that the president's hair was fake and actually a wig.

— Fernando Cervantes Jr, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of ridicule

Noun

And the depreciation of the naira currency has seen the dollar value of company revenues fall within the period.

— Alexander Onukwue, semafor.com, 4 Sep. 2026
Her tax returns show $60,000 a year in net income after depreciation, vehicle costs, and a warehouse write-off, a figure no conventional lender can stretch into a Miami purchase.

— Karen Koehler, Miami Herald, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of depreciation

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belittled

belittlement

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“Belittlement.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/belittlement. Accessed 19 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of belittlement

noun

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