The expression “coffee break” was first attested in 1952 in glossy magazine advertisements by the Pan-American Coffee Bureau.
BELITTLE
diminish, belittle
(verb) lessen the authority, dignity, or reputation of; “don’t belittle your colleagues”
disparage, belittle, pick at
(verb) express a negative opinion of; “She disparaged her student’s efforts”
minimize, belittle, denigrate, derogate
(verb) cause to seem less serious; play down; “Don’t belittle his influence”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Verb
belittle (third-person singular simple present belittles, present participle belittling, simple past and past participle belittled)
(transitive) To knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is. [from 1782]
Synonyms: understate, make light of, denigrate, degrade, deprecate, disparage, downplay, play down, trivialize, bagatellize
Antonym: exaggerate
Source: Wiktionary
Be*lit"tle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Belittled; p. pr. & vb. n. Belittling.]
Definition: To make little or less in a moral sense; to speak of in a depreciatory or contemptuous way. T. Jefferson.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
24 May 2025
EARTHSHAKING
(adjective) sufficiently significant to affect the whole world; “earthshaking proposals”; “the contest was no world-shaking affair”; “the conversation...could hardly be called world-shattering”
Coffee Trivia
