condescending
adjective
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What is the difference between condescending and patronizing?
Very few words in English have exactly the same meaning; even words which appear to be entirely synonymous often will be found to have small differences in certain contexts. The words condescending and patronizing present a fine example of this. At first glance these words appear to be defined somewhat circularly: condescending often has the word "patronizing" in its definition, and patronize is defined, in part, as “to adopt an air of condescension toward.”
But both of these words have specialized senses that lend a shade of meaning to their synonymous senses. Patronizing can mean "giving support to" or "being a customer of," suggesting that the "condescending" sense implies superiority gained through a donor-dependent relationship.
The verb condescend used to be free of any hint of the offensive superiority it usually suggests today. It could mean literally "to go or come down" or, figuratively, "to willingly lower oneself to another’s level," senses that are still occasionally encountered in writings on the Bible. The idea of self-consciously lowering oneself is implied in the "patronizing" sense of condescending.
Examples of condescending in a Sentence
Stephen King, New York Times Book Review, 6 June 1993
… 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
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
His comments were offensive and condescending to us.
Joe Sills, Forbes, 19 Jan. 2025
But that’s a pretty mean and condescending way to give constructive criticism.
—Gili Malinsky, CNBC, 21 Jan. 2025
Trump was behind Sewell, looking on with a condescending smirk, as if to say, Get a load of this guy!
—Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2025
This dynamic often arises when one partner unintentionally infantilizes the other, through actions like making decisions on their behalf, questioning their abilities or even adopting a condescending tone during conversations.
—Mark Travers, Forbes, 19 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for condescending
Cite this Entry
“Condescending.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/condescending. Accessed 7 Jul. 2025.
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