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Definition of belittle : To make little or less in a moral sense; to speak of in a depreciatory or contemptuous way.

Synonyms:

dishonor, sully, derogate, denigrate, smear, besmirch, minimize, derogate from, minimise, pluck at, run down, underrate, attack, discredit, lessen, downplay, detract, detract from, show, pick at, smirch, talk down, defame, decry, decrease, understate, slander, carp at, slight, fall, asperse, disparage, peck, pull at, peck at, downgrade, calumniate

cut, reduce, depreciate, shave, trim, cheapen, debase, discount, pare, slash, diminish, devaluate, mark down, deflate, degrade, devalue

compact, clip, condense, lower, shorten, abridge

underestimate, undervalue

deprecate, study at depreciate

Usage examples:

• Surely, the power of the tribune and of the press combined, these two great forces of civilization,- it is not I who seek to deny or belittle them; but see how many efforts of all kinds it would have required, in every direction, and under every form, by the tribune and by the newspaper, by the book and by the spoken word, to succeed even in shaking the universal prejudice in favor of these four fatal institutions! - "Napoleon the Little", Victor Hugo.
• That prospect did not seem to worry the princess in the least; nor did her father's appeal not to belittle him in the eyes of his fellow monarchs have the slightest effect on her. - "Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends", Gertrude Landa.
• Merely to belittle the thing, as long past and forgotten, won't help me. - "The Testing of Diana Mallory", Mrs. Humphry Ward.