condescending

con·de·scend·ing

adj \ˌkän-di-ˈsen-diŋ\

Definition of CONDESCENDING

: showing or characterized by a patronizing or superior attitude toward others

— con·de·scend·ing·ly \-ˈsen-diŋ-lē\ adverb

Examples of CONDESCENDING

1. His comments were offensive and condescending to us.
2. The next big sequel to roll off the assembly line (awful, condescending phrase, but this is a case of what you have to do when the shoe fits) is going to be a sequel to “Rebecca,” Daphne du Maurier's classic 1930's suspense novel. —Stephen King, New York Times Book Review, 6 June 1993
3. … when the picturesque was seen close up, the “happy poverty” of the peasant was not always happy. There was something unpleasantly condescending, an element of esthetic slumming in the tourist's or the artist's view of picturesqueness. —Anatole Broyard, New York Times Book Review, 1 Oct. 1989
4. I always imagined publishers were rather snarky and condescending and made a point of crabbing one's work, but he didn't a bit. —Elizabeth Bowen, letter, 19 Jan. 1923

Origin of CONDESCENDING

(see condescend)

First Known Use: 1660

Rhymes with CONDESCENDING

gender-bending, unpretending