See decry in American Heritage Dictionary 4 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: Many 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: He belittled the child's attempts to draw. She tried to minimize my accomplishment.
To downgrade is to minimize in importance or estimation: Her rival downgraded the painting, calling it decorative but superficial.
See decry in Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus II
verb
To think, represent, or speak of as small or unimportant:
belittle, denigrate, deprecate, depreciate, derogate, detract, discount, disparage, downgrade, minimize, run down, slight, talk down. Idiom: make light (or little) of. See attack, show
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