These words refer to criticism designed to diminish the worth of something. Belittle is the most general and informal of these; it may suggest a deliberately fault-finding attitude: belittle every practical suggestion she came up with. It may imply an attitude that simply cannot tolerate excellence or effort in others: belittling those who had continued to work on the project after he had given up. It may also suggest a cumulatively telling process of slight or trivial attempts to undermine another’s position: constantly belittling everything he believed in.

Minimize is a more formal substitute for belittle : it refers specifically to the attempt to set a lower value on something than it commonly carries or deserves: minimizing the worth of civil defence measures previously in force. In contrast to belittle , any not of spiteful censoriousness may be absent from this word, which by its formality may emphasize, instead, a judicious or reasoned reassessment: minimizing the effect of Augustine on later medieval thought. The sense of animus, by contrast, is definitely present in detract, even to a greater degree than in belittle . Where belittle , furthermore, may suggest a sniping at trivial failings, detract suggests an attempt at a more drastic lowering of esteem: a fiercely argued view that sought to detract from the usefulness of the earlier study.

Disparage and deprecate contrast with the foregoing words by suggesting a general effort to make something seem without worth or value. Disparage suggests the animus of detract, but may imply a seizing caustically disparaging each new production as further proof of the playwright’s worthlessness, while deprecate may sometimes suggest only an attempt to devalue rather than to reject something utterly, its effect is strengthened by the amused, scornful, or sarcastic consideration it implies: deprecating the notion of a take-over with a weary laugh. Depreciate is mainly used intransitively, meaning to fall in value, but some purists assert that depreciate and not deprecate should be used in the sense of lowering or underestimating the worth of: the tendency of people who are not talented to depreciate those who are. Many excellent writers, however, use deprecate in this sense, and it can only be considered a well-established usage today.

Discredit is the most severe of these words, exclusively suggesting criticism deigned to demolish a position or accomplishment utterly, often by unfair means: attempting to discredit his opponent by glancing and suggestive references to his personal life.