1
as in disdainful
feeling or showing open dislike for someone or something regarded as undeserving of respect or concern
loutish tourists who are contemptuous of the ways and traditions of their host countries
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in slighting
intended to make a person or thing seem of little importance or value
contemptuous comments about the baseball team's pathetic showings
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Recent Examples of contemptuous
Entirely contemptuous of legal precedent, his administration is more focused on instilling fear than on effectively decreasing crime.
—
Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 20 Aug. 2025
The lawsuit plaintiffs certainly don’t see any benefit to being represented in any capacity by an organization whose leaders are openly contemptuous of their faith, their values and their culture.
—Jeff Rhodes, Oc Register, 30 July 2025
At this point, the major labels are practically giving away disks, throwing them into large boxes, sometimes with lavish notes and photos, sometimes with contemptuous bareness.
—David Denby, New Yorker, 20 July 2025
This style includes contemptuous and mistrustful visages; blockily bunkered and narrowly fenestrated exteriors; and ludicrously lavish and coddling interiors.
—Brett Berk, Robb Report, 8 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for contemptuous
Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 20 Aug. 2025
The lawsuit plaintiffs certainly don’t see any benefit to being represented in any capacity by an organization whose leaders are openly contemptuous of their faith, their values and their culture.
—Jeff Rhodes, Oc Register, 30 July 2025
At this point, the major labels are practically giving away disks, throwing them into large boxes, sometimes with lavish notes and photos, sometimes with contemptuous bareness.
—David Denby, New Yorker, 20 July 2025
This style includes contemptuous and mistrustful visages; blockily bunkered and narrowly fenestrated exteriors; and ludicrously lavish and coddling interiors.
—Brett Berk, Robb Report, 8 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for contemptuous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contemptuous
Adjective
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He’s been sullen all day, sunk in his collar, his face disdainful.—
David Wingrave,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Oct. 2025
-
Many documentarians are disdainful of such performances, and Burns avoided working with them on The Civil War.—
Christopher Bonanos,
Curbed,
23 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Trump’s reaction to Modi’s trip to Tianjin has been scornful, claiming that India is offering to drop all tariffs on American goods.—
Bobby Ghosh,
Time,
2 Sep. 2025
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Trump, too, is scornful of what European diplomacy could achieve, declaring recently that Iran doesn’t want to talk to Europe.—
Garret Martin,
The Conversation,
15 July 2025
Adjective
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To educate all of them in similar ways is insulting, and silly.—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 Sep. 2025
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Perkins said the drink bore the insulting message.—
Victoria Moorwood,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
22 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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So long as that situation continues, the 43-year-old’s allegedly arrogant and stand-offish treatment of his players will not worry the club hierarchy too much.—
Dermot Corrigan,
New York Times,
31 Oct. 2025
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The pilot opens with Powell’s character, arrogant college quarterback Russ Holliday, leading his Oregon Ducks team in the National Championship game against Georgia at the Rose Bowl.—
Angelique Jackson,
Variety,
28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Police believe the act was done with malicious intent.—
Wren Smetana,
AZCentral.com,
26 Oct. 2025
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The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links is to have antivirus software installed on all your devices.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
25 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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As part of those investigations, his team combed through thousands of terabytes of abhorrent pictures.—
Charlotte Alter,
Time,
22 Oct. 2025
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Was in and out of an abhorrent Southampton team last season, but the 21-year-old France youth international midfielder should fare better at Turf Moor.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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And there would be lots of soldiers around, either Army or National Guard, and the people who were civilians would be young people, very disparaging about the military.—
Steve Baltin,
Forbes.com,
24 Aug. 2025
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The 2023 Economic Report Of The President published in March of 2023 was relatively disparaging of cryptoassets and DLTs.—
Lawrence Wintermeyer,
Forbes,
5 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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In Pahani’s 2006 award-winning comedy Offside, about the cruel cultural chains binding Iranian women, a group of young women attempt to gain entry to a stadium to watch a World Cup qualifying match between Iran and Japan.—
Baz Bamigboye,
Deadline,
24 Oct. 2025
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There is no reason to be cruel to people.—
Sigal Ratner-Arias,
Billboard,
23 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Contemptuous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contemptuous. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.
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