in contempt

phrase

: in the state of having been found guilty of the offense of contempt

refused to appear and was held in contempt

Examples of in contempt in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Earlier Thursday, Missouri's top court convened a hearing on whether to hold Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins in contempt for not following its orders to use the districts passed after the last census. — David A. Lieb, Arkansas Online, 11 Sep. 2026

Local 42’s attorneys had previously filed a motion asking a Jackson County judge to hold the city in contempt, arguing that officials had failed to carry out a previous judgment in the case from March that enforced the arbitrator’s decision. — Ben Wheeler, Kansas City Star, 8 Sep. 2026

The group's leader filed a request Tuesday night with the state Supreme Court to hold Hoskins in contempt for attempting to use the new map, and the court scheduled arguments for Thursday on the request. — ABC News, 8 Sep. 2026

Johnson had also issued an arrest warrant against him in March, ruling him in contempt of court at that time over failing to turn over the financial documents, including state and federal tax returns along with bank statements and other filings. — Lucas Aulbach, Louisville Courier Journal, 4 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1649, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for in contempt

• nonexempt
• attempt
• exempt
• preempt
• unkempt
• empt
• tempt