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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of contemptuous
This is a club that had failed to lift domestic silverware for 70 years and, for more than three-quarters of Neave’s life, had displayed an almost contemptuous attitude towards knockout competitions.
—
Chris Waugh, New York Times, 16 May 2025
In contrast to contemptuous speech, treating people with dignity recognizes the inherent worth of every person and leaves space for holding people accountable by focusing on facts, actions, decisions and outcomes.
—Timothy Shriver, Twin Cities, 14 May 2025
Thomas Jefferson was contemptuous of federal power, but as president in 1803, Jefferson bought the Louisiana territory from France for $15 million.
—Chris Roemer, Baltimore Sun, 24 Apr. 2025
Yet the Administration persisted with its disobedient, if not contemptuous, behavior.
—Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for contemptuous
Chris Waugh, New York Times, 16 May 2025
In contrast to contemptuous speech, treating people with dignity recognizes the inherent worth of every person and leaves space for holding people accountable by focusing on facts, actions, decisions and outcomes.
—Timothy Shriver, Twin Cities, 14 May 2025
Thomas Jefferson was contemptuous of federal power, but as president in 1803, Jefferson bought the Louisiana territory from France for $15 million.
—Chris Roemer, Baltimore Sun, 24 Apr. 2025
Yet the Administration persisted with its disobedient, if not contemptuous, behavior.
—Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for contemptuous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contemptuous
Adjective
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Trump has even been disdainful or dismissive of the United States’ traditional allies, such as Mexico and Argentina.—
Christopher Sabatini,
Foreign Affairs,
8 Nov. 2017
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Wise minds inside the Trump administration will hopefully choose to drop a suit first introduced during by a Biden administration reflexively disdainful of big.—
John Tamny,
Forbes.com,
10 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The cast gets a huge boost at midseason with the arrival of John Leguizamo, equally broadly funny and vulnerable as Dave’s disgraced former partner, and Anna Chlumsky, hilariously scornful as a law enforcement outsider who gets brought into the story’s chaos.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
26 June 2025
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The advisee may present herself as a supplicant but end up an aggressor, demanding and scornful.—
Merve Emre,
New Yorker,
16 June 2025
Adjective
-
Conversations revealed an ongoing dialogue that was not only deeply insulting to Read, but morally offensive to women broadly.—
Gemma Allen,
Forbes.com,
25 June 2025
-
Trump’s orders are insulting to state and local officials, but especially to the Marines.—
Tom Zirpoli,
Baltimore Sun,
17 June 2025
Adjective
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Her larger-than-life ego and past as a shaman make Player 044 come off as arrogant and selfish, getting under just about everyone's skin.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
4 July 2025
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In 2022, Ackles joined the cast of Prime Video's The Boys as arrogant superhero Soldier Boy.—
Brianne Tracy,
People.com,
4 July 2025
Adjective
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The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links is to have strong antivirus software installed on all your devices.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
28 June 2025
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The first-degree arson charges and malicious damage by explosive charges are connected to the damage to two homes on each side of Barnette’s property.—
Jeff A. Chamer,
Charlotte Observer,
27 June 2025
Adjective
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During a lecture on Holocaust denial and distortion, there was unanimous agreement that such behavior was abhorrent.—
Sarah Meira Schlager,
Sun Sentinel,
2 July 2025
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Detective Hwang Jun-ho’s (Wi Ha-jun) procedural-like quest to follow Gi-hun back to the island, in hopes of shutting down the abhorrent competition and confronting his brother the Front Man, dominated the first two episodes; once the games began, Jun-ho and his crew mostly drifted around, lost.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
27 June 2025
Adjective
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Living the Values: Nothing is more disparaging for employees than having a leader who demonstrates behaviors that do not align with the organizational values, and no one seems to care.—
Tony Gambill,
Forbes.com,
24 June 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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Politics remains a cruel business and the governor has been on the frontline of it for nearly 20 years, winning and losing.—
Kevin Rennie,
Hartford Courant,
5 July 2025
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They were joined by actors playing the contestants, who lurched along wearing expressions of exaggerated horror, as though the cruel stakes of the game had just been revealed to them.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
4 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Contemptuous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contemptuous. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025.
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