Belittle some tales -- 'sentimental' (6)

I believe the answer is:

lessen

'belittle' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'some tales sentimental' is the wordplay.
'some' indicates a hidden word (some of the parts of the word are used).
'LESSEN' is hidden within 'tales sentimental'.

(Other definitions for lessen that I've seen before include "Make smaller for lenses" , "Shrink" , "decline" , "Reduce in number" , "Contract" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.

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