Synonyms: decry, disparage, depreciate, derogate, belittle, minimize, downgrade. These verbs mean to think, write, or speak of as being of little value or importance. Decry implies open denunciation or condemnation: A staunch materialist, he decries economy. Disparage often implies the communication of a low opinion by indirection: Some critics disparage psychoanalysis as being a pseudoscience. To depreciate is to assign a lower than customary value to someone or something: Some musicologists depreciate Liszt's compositions. Derogate implies a detraction that impairs: People often derogate what they don't understand. Belittle and minimize mean to make less important, but minimize strongly implies the minimum level: belittled the child's attempts to draw; trying to minimize the accomplishment. To downgrade is to minimize in importance or estimation: Her rival downgraded the painting, calling it decorative but superficial.