contemptuous

con·temp·tu·ous

adj
\kən-ˈtem(p)-chə-wəs, -chəs, -shwəs, -chü-əs\

Definition of CONTEMPTUOUS

: manifesting, feeling, or expressing deep hatred or disapproval : feeling or showing contempt

— con·temp·tu·ous·ly adverb

— con·temp·tu·ous·ness noun

Examples of CONTEMPTUOUS

1. <loutish tourists who are contemptuous of the ways and traditions of their host countries>
2. <contemptuous comments about the baseball team's pathetic showings>
3. He owned a fine Kentucky rifle, with a cherry wood stock, and was contemptuous of the bulky carbines most of the troop had adopted. —Larry McMurtry, Dead Man's Walk, 1995
4. He felt familiar enough to indulge in outbursts of rage or contemptuous sarcasm in her presence, and to display the most withering side of his character, lashing out at the people he despised. —Cynthia Ozick, New Yorker, 20 Nov. 1989
5. In his 1978 Harvard commencement address, Mr. Solzhenitsyn seemed at times contemptuous of American democracy … —Daniel Patrick Moynihan, New York Times Book Review, 24 Nov. 1991

Origin of CONTEMPTUOUS

Latin contemptus (see contempt)

First Known Use: 1574

Related to CONTEMPTUOUS

Synonyms: abhorrent, disdainful, scornful

Antonyms: admiring, applauding, appreciative, approving

Related Words: bold-faced, brash, brassy, brazen, cheeky, cocky, discourteous, disrespectful, fresh, impertinent, impudent, insolent, sassy, saucy; arrogant, cavalier, highfalutin (also hifalutin), high-handed, high-hat, pretentious, uppish, uppity; haughty, lofty, lordly, prideful, sniffish, snobbish, supercilious; pompous, self-important, superior; catty, cruel, despiteful, hateful, malevolent, malicious, malign, malignant, mean, nasty, spiteful

Near Antonyms: deferential, regardful, respectful; accepting, tolerant; courteous, polite

see all synonyms and antonyms

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