patronizing

adjective

pa·​tron·​iz·​ing ˈpā-trə-ˌnī-ziŋ 

ˈpa-

: showing or characterized by a superior attitude towards others : marked by condescension

patronizing comments

… "mansplaining," which is slang for when a man gives an explanation to a woman in a patronizing tone.

—A. D. Quig et al.

No more endearing is his patronizing jocularity …

—Marilyn Stasio

They say that by continuing to focus solely on the winners, historians have been as patronizing to their subjects as the colonialists themselves.

—Ethan Bronner

… without being patronizing, she helps her Maasai friends with everything from land disputes to school problems.

—The New Yorker

patronizingly

ˈpā-trə-ˌnī-ziŋ-lē 

ˈpa-

adverb

Throughout the evening, we've watched Stein alternate between patronizingly taking the students to task for their ignorance and spinning hilariously self-serving tales about his own accomplishments and famous friends.

—Elisabeth Vincentelli

patronizingness noun

… behaved with an uncertain mixture of sympathy, patronizingness and control.

—Anna Grimshaw

Examples of patronizing in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Attempts have been so grand as to come off as wildly patronizing. — Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 14 May 2026

Fear-mongering, which comes off equal parts paranoid and patronizing, is the surest way to make people stop listening. — Krista Kafer, Denver Post, 20 Oct. 2025

Used in a patronizing context toward a rule follower, this trend is usually used to mock rather than compliment. — Sarah Scott, Parents, 4 Dec. 2025

All right, this is the patronizing version of complimenting the elderly. — Judith Martin, Mercury News, 6 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1827, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for patronizing

• advertising
• agonising
• amortizing
• analyzing
• anodizing
• appetizing
• atomizing
• authorising
• authorizing
• carbonizing
• carburizing
• catalyzing