belittle
bih-LIT-ulverbMeaning to make someone or something seem small or unimportant
Memory hook BE-LITTLE: makes you feel LITTLE. Rex sneers, “Baby stuff!” at Pip’s drawing, and Pip feels about two inches tall: Rex belittles it.
Don’t belittle your little brother’s drawing; he worked hard on it.
In context Rather than praise the team’s second-place finish, the coach chose to belittle it, calling it “just another loss” in front of the whole school.
Similar disparage, diminish, put down, minimize
Opposite praise, compliment, exalt
First used in America in the 1780s: be- (make) + little.