microinvalidate

Etymology

From micro- + invalidate.

Why this word is great

MICROINVALIDATE — [Verb] To engage in microinvalidation, to make a relatively small statement or action that negates another person's experience, thoughts, or feelings. From micro- ("small") + invalidate ("to nullify or undermine"). Unlike "dismiss" (to reject outright) or "ignore" (to pay no attention), to microinvalidate is to hollow out another's reality with surgical precision. It is the reflexive "You're overreacting" to a legitimate grievance, the casual "I don’t see color" to a person of color, or the well-meaning "But you don’t look sick" to someone with chronic pain—each a quiet erasure, a papercut to the soul that leaves no mark but bleeds all the same. The violence of small things is that they are easy to overlook, even as they hollow you out.

verb

To engage in microinvalidation, to make a relatively small statement or action (microaggression) that negates another person's experience, thoughts or feelings.“For example, changing seats to be further away from a^([sic]) LGBT person would be microinsulting, while creating an environment where someone feels pushed to "stay in the closet" can be considered microinvalidating. Second, the heterosexist and homonegative behaviors may appear to be harmless but may have a cumulative impact on the LGBT recipient of these microaggressions.”