Underappreciating

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Not giving enough recognition or thanks for the worth or efforts of a person or thing
2. Neglecting to fully acknowledge the significance or contribution of an individual or object
3. Overlooking or undervaluing the qualities or benefits that someone or something provides

Etymology: The word is an inflected form of "underappreciate", so it is simply the present participle and gerund of that verb, which is built from "under-" and "appreciate". The first part, "under-", goes back through Old English "under" to a Proto-Germanic root meaning "beneath" or "lower in position", a sense that has been carried over into the idea of doing less than what is due. "Appreciate" came into English from the Latin "appretiare", meaning "to set a price on", from "ad-" and "pretium", "price". That original sense of valuing something in monetary terms explains why the verb later came to mean recognising worth more broadly. Adding "under-" reverses the direction: instead of assigning a value, one assigns too little, or fails to notice a value at all.

Synonyms: undervaluing, disregarding