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
Relevance
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of contemptuous
Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2025
According to an ancient Greek myth, all those who had fallen in love with the young man Narcissus were met with contemptuous rejection.
—Abigayle Ward, Hartford Courant, 8 Mar. 2025
The president was also profoundly contemptuous of women, kept his true opposition to female suffrage carefully hidden, and allowed the suffragists who silently held banners outside the White House to be repeatedly attacked by mobs, beaten, and jailed.
—Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
The arguments Republicans have made in their opposition to Joe Biden’s contemptuous pardons are pretty compelling.
—Noah Rothman, National Review, 21 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for contemptuous
Adjective
Yet the Administration persisted with its disobedient, if not contemptuous, behavior.
—Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2025
According to an ancient Greek myth, all those who had fallen in love with the young man Narcissus were met with contemptuous rejection.
—Abigayle Ward, Hartford Courant, 8 Mar. 2025
The president was also profoundly contemptuous of women, kept his true opposition to female suffrage carefully hidden, and allowed the suffragists who silently held banners outside the White House to be repeatedly attacked by mobs, beaten, and jailed.
—Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
The arguments Republicans have made in their opposition to Joe Biden’s contemptuous pardons are pretty compelling.
—Noah Rothman, National Review, 21 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for contemptuous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contemptuous
Adjective
-
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
-
Now, with Donald J. Trump installed in the White House, Mr. Zelensky is facing a new challenge: maintaining good relations with the country’s most critical ally and a president who has been disdainful toward him and skeptical of military aid.—
Andrew E. Kramer,
New York Times,
23 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
No one is more familiar than Walker with state government’s contempt for constitutional rights.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
24 May 2025
-
Biden’s Attorney General Merrick Garland was held in contempt by the U.S. House of Representatives for refusing to release them.—
Doug Friednash,
Denver Post,
21 May 2025
Adjective
-
Major studios have grown gun-shy about funding anything remotely risky; even a risk well taken can prompt a knee-jerk, scornful reaction from not only the executives but also the press: The film could, even should, have done better.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
25 Apr. 2025
-
Meghan Markle's Netflix Backlash Meghan's Netflix show earned scornful reviews not only in the British press, long the villains of Meghan and Prince Harry's narrative, but also among U.S. outlets that previously provided glowing coverage.—
Daniel R. Depetris,
Newsweek,
25 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Trump began the meeting by mildly insulting Ramaphosa, who took it in stride.—
Meredith Kile,
People.com,
21 May 2025
-
The idea that women need to be properly taught how to conceive a child through a government program is a particularly insulting proposal, says Reshma Saujani, the founder and CEO of Moms First.—
Stephanie McNeal,
Glamour,
22 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Young has never shied from making his disdain for Trump clear.—
Ethan Millman,
HollywoodReporter,
20 May 2025
-
One of the unspoken pleasures of Drag Race is when Michelle gets her toes stepped on by a guest judge and/or can’t mask her disdain for them.—
Chris Feil,
Vulture,
16 May 2025
Adjective
-
Richard was known for being outspoken, if not arrogant, consistently rubbing his Tagi tribe the wrong way and offending some of them with his blatant display of nudity on the island.—
Nick Caruso,
TVLine,
27 May 2025
-
Multiple people described him to me as unpopular and arrogant.—
Amanda Chicago Lewis,
Harpers Magazine,
29 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
The malicious URLs outputted in the response are in clickable form, meaning all a user has to do is click one to be taken to a malicious site.—
Dan Goodin,
ArsTechnica,
23 May 2025
-
Enhances visibility and control of network traffic and user activities and detects and blocks malicious activities.—
Mickey Singh,
Forbes.com,
23 May 2025
Noun
-
No more tolerance of hatred, no more mercy for criminals.—
Sarah Beth Hensley,
ABC News,
28 May 2025
-
Antisemitism, hatred and terrorism must be stopped, lest our civilization fall into the abyss.—
Diane Gensler,
Baltimore Sun,
26 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Contemptuous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contemptuous. Accessed 3 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share