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Belittle vs Undermine - What's the difference?

belittle | undermine |

As verbs the difference between belittle and undermine

is that belittle is to knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is while undermine is to dig underneath (something), to make a passage or for destructive or military purposes; to sap.

belittle

English

Verb

(belittl)
  • To knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is.
  • * {{quote-book, year=2006
  • , author=Mark Steyn , title=America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It , chapter=9 , isbn=0895260786 , page=201 , passage=Under the rules as understood by the New York Times'', the West is free to mock and belittle''' its Judeo-Christian inheritance, and, likewise, the Muslim world is free to mock and ' belittle the West's Judeo-Christian inheritance.}}

    See also

    * disparage * denigrate * vilipend

    undermine

    English

    Verb

    (undermin)
  • To dig underneath (something), to make a passage or for destructive or military purposes; to sap.
  • * 2009 , (Diarmaid MacCulloch), A History of Christianity , Penguin 2010, p. 312:
  • Martin, for instance, had on one occasion undermined a tree sacred to old gods, then stood in the path of its fall, but forced it to fall elsewhere by making the sign of the Cross.
  • (figuratively) To weaken or work against; to hinder, sabotage.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2012, date=April 19, author=Josh Halliday, work=the Guardian
  • , title= Free speech haven or lawless cesspool – can the internet be civilised? , passage=The growing use of social media to spread anger and dissent in the Arab world has been hailed by western governments as one of the chief justifications for a completely unfettered internet. The US is reportedly funding the secret rollout of technology in Iran in an effort to undermine internet censors in the country.}}

    Antonyms

    * undergird