贬低detract,diminish,belittle,disparage

detract: 来自拉丁语detractus，意为“贬低，诽谤”，源自动词detrahere，意为“拉下，拖下，贬低”，由de（向下）和trahere（拉）组成。

diminish: 来自拉丁语diminutus，意为“减少，缩小”，源自动词diminuere，意为“减少，缩小”，由di（变化）和minuere（减少）组成。

belittle: 来自英语be-和little，意为“使变小，轻视”，源自动词little，意为“小的，不重要的”。

disparage: 来自法语desparagier，意为“贬低，轻视”，源自前缀des-（否定）和parage（等级），由拉丁语par（相等）衍生。

从词根的角度来看，detract和其他近义词的区别在于它们强调的不同方面。detract强调的是一个向下或向后的动作或效果；diminish强调的是一个变化或减少的动作或效果；belittle强调的是一个使变小或轻视的动作或效果；disparage强调的是一个否定或降低等级的动作或效果。

Alice was a talented singer who dreamed of becoming a star. She had a beautiful voice and a charming personality, but she also had a jealous rival named Betty. Betty was always trying to detract from Alice's achievements by spreading rumors and lies about her. She wanted to diminish Alice's confidence and make her give up on her dream. Betty also liked to belittle Alice in front of others, mocking her appearance and style. She thought that by making Alice feel small, she could make herself look bigger. Betty even went as far as to disparage Alice's singing skills, saying that she was off-key and boring. She hoped that by insulting Alice's talent, she could discourage her from pursuing her passion.

Explanation:

Detract means to take away from the value or quality of something or someone.

Diminish means to make something or someone seem less important or valuable.

Belittle means to make someone feel unimportant or inferior by criticizing them harshly or contemptuously.

Disparage means to express a low opinion of someone or something, usually in an unfair or disrespectful way.