Belittle, disparage (9)
I believe the answer is:
denigrate
I believe this is a double definition.
'belittle' is the first definition.
(I know that belittle is a is a more specific form of the action of belittle)
'disparage' is the second definition.
(I know that denigrate is a more specific form of the action disparage)
(Other definitions for denigrate that I've seen before include "Bad-mouth" , "Disparage" , "Blacken" , "Run down" , "Defame" .)