belittle

As a Wisconsin grad, and something of a known jerk, my usual move here is to get snarky and belittle the University of Michigan’s brand new national championship in men’s basketball.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 7, 2026

Some see the encounter between four-time major singles champion Sabalenka and Australia's former world number 13 Kyrgios as harmless entertainment, but others believe it could belittle the women's game if Sabalenka loses.

From BBC ● Dec. 11, 2025

Although he celebrated intensely, Crawford did not belittle Álvarez, acknowledging the quality of the former champion.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2025

“No artist, producer, director, or leader—regardless of legacy or celebrity—should be allowed to weaponize their platform to belittle, threaten, or devalue others without consequence. Period,” the letter states.

From Salon ● May 31, 2025

The teacher proceeded to belittle everyone from German Eva, who hated laziness, to Japanese Yukari, who loved paintbrushes and soap.

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris

And that can make for a harsh internal voice that belittles and chastises us.

From New York Times ● Apr. 11, 2024

“There will be no compromise with any party that challenges, belittles or violates Malaysian laws,” he said in a statement on Facebook.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 22, 2023

"We are part of it and we will not spare any effort to defend it from anyone who abuses or belittles it."

From Reuters ● Feb. 19, 2023

Ethicist Zoe Fritz said language that "casts doubt, belittles or blames patients" was long overdue for change.

From BBC ● Jan. 17, 2023

“Not monster movies. My sister, as usual, belittles my chosen medium. Want to know the tide?”

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

History has been unkind to the former first lady, who has been routinely belittled, mocked and misjudged.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 2026

It is fascinating to me that Thomas, who genuinely feels belittled by every single thing that has ever happened to him, has somehow gotten smaller on the job.

From Slate ● Apr. 17, 2026

US President Donald Trump said Friday that Colombian President Gustavo Petro, a leftist his administration long belittled, will visit the White House next month as he voiced optimism for ties.

From Barron's ● Jan. 9, 2026

Cartlidge also raised "a disgraceful incident" where an employee of General Dynamics, the company making Ajax, had "belittled the injured soldiers" in social media posts.

From BBC ● Dec. 8, 2025

My brain remembered just how long I’d been ignored and belittled.

From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon

Playing jokes and pranks, it needs to be amusing and not belittling, obviously.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

And the teenage provocateur made no secret of that revulsion, loudly belittling his fellow students.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2025

They say Judge Philip Lancaster was belittling and intimidating and made them feel stupid while they presented their cases.

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2024

Dr. Chernin acknowledged how stressful those conversations can be, sometimes deteriorating into finger-pointing, belittling or stonewalling.

From New York Times ● May 17, 2024

I think it might embarrass Stuart to hear mice mentioned in such a belittling manner.”

From "Stuart Little" by E.B. White