vähätellä — meaning in English

English meaning

belittle verb To speak of someone or something as less important or impressive than it really is, often to show contempt.
demean verb To lower someone's dignity or make them seem less worthy of respect.
denigrate verb To criticize someone unfairly in a way that damages their reputation.
deprecate verb To say clearly that you disapprove of something.
derogate verb (law) To cancel part of a law, rather than all of it.
detract verb To take something away or reduce it.
disparage noun An unequal marriage, especially to someone of lower social rank.
downplay verb To make something seem less important than it really is.
minimize verb To reduce something to the smallest possible amount or size.
snub verb To deliberately ignore or treat someone coldly, as an insult.
trivialize verb To treat something as less important or serious than it really is.
understate verb To describe something as smaller or less important than it really is.

vähätellä is used for these senses in English:

belittle (transitive) To knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is, especially as a way of showing contempt or deprecation. [from 1782]
demean (obsolete) To manage; to conduct; to treat.
demean (now rare) To conduct; to behave; to comport; followed by the reflexive pronoun.
denigrate (transitive) To treat as worthless; belittle, degrade or disparage.
deprecate (transitive) To express disapproval of, protest or plead against.
derogate (transitive) To detract from (something); to disparage, belittle. [from 16th c.]
detract (transitive) To take credit or reputation from; to derogate; to defame or decry.
disparage To dishonor by a comparison with what is inferior; to lower in rank or estimation by actions or words; to speak slightingly of; to depreciate; to undervalue.