cut down to size

Verb

Meaning

To humble or humiliate, especially someone or something that is perceived as overly domineering or too proud.

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see cut,‎ down,‎ size.

Source: en.wiktionary.org

Synonyms

deflate chasten squash humiliate demean abase miniaturise

Antonyms

fete thank laureate memorialize

Examples

Our brains are no longer conditioned for reverence and awe. We cannot imagine a Second Coming that would not be cut down to size by the televised evening news, or a Last Judgment not subject to pages of holier-than-thou second-guessing in The New York Review of Books. John Updike

Close letter words and terms

cut down cut down on weight cut down the tall poppy cut edge cut edition cut expenditure