1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

contemptuousness

noun

as in contempt
open dislike for someone or something considered unworthy of one's concern or respect a glance filled with unrestrained contemptuousness for the rest of us

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for contemptuousness
  1. contempt
  2. disdain
  3. hatred
Noun
  • Held in contempt Former CEO of Apollo Global Management Leon Black arrives to testify at a closed-door interview with the House oversight committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 26, 2026.
    — Alex Harring, CNBC, 17 Sep. 2026
  • On Tuesday the Oversight Committee voted unanimously to approve the contempt recommendation, sending it to the full House.
    — Lisa Mascaro, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of contempt
Noun
  • Skipping inside, Nora joins a cadre of shambling interns whom the editorial staff regard with a mixture of bemusement and disdain.
    — Natalia Winkelman, Variety, 20 Sep. 2026
  • Expressing disdain for Stearns probably feels like the only thing fans can do at the moment.
    — Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of disdain
Noun
  • Various extremist actors in Germany are inciting hatred and violence against Jews or the State of Israel, or denying its right to exist.
    — Benjamin Weinthal, FOXNews.com, 20 Sep. 2026
  • But Chism, whom Ronson tracks down, has not been radicalized by the wave of hatred that came his way.
    — Jeremy Gordon, The Atlantic, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of hatred
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

contemptuously
contemptuousness
contend
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Contemptuousness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contemptuousness. Accessed 24 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of pundit

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All