as in abusive
marked by harsh insulting language
a well-reasoned thesis that merited more than just a scornful, contumelious response
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contumelious
Adjective
-
The film has been described as a Social Network-esque feature that covers the tumultuous 2023 period in which Altman, amid AI safety concerns and reports of abusive behavior, was fired and rehired by OpenAI within a matter of days.
-
Better intervention programs for abusive men could help, too, Salinas said, but most of those arrested on domestic violence charges never complete such a program.
Adjective
-
Considering there were only 33 appearances this past season, such Heat prudence hardly could be viewed as insulting.
-
What Florence has been doing is consistent and insulting.
Adjective
-
By then the alternate endings were a hot topic, and Rice pulled an outrageous stunt.
-
In 2014, Messi began with that famously outrageous winner against Bosnia, arguably bettered it against Iran a few days later, with a splendid winner in stoppage time.
Adjective
-
Yippies would turn up at a 1970 Blood, Sweat & Tears show at Madison Square Garden, carrying obscene banners outside and dumping manure by the front gate.
-
After shares rallied to a peak of $225 on June 16, a stunning 50 percent rise over their opening price, Musk officially became the world’s very-first trillionaire — an obscene hyper-capitalist milestone highlighting the tech oligarchy’s iron grip on society.
Adjective
-
Honor is not, in Mr. Sommers’s view, without its opprobrious aspects, not least its association with violence.
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.
Cite this Entry
“Contumelious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contumelious. Accessed 26 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
