as in abusive
marked by harsh insulting language
a well-reasoned thesis that merited more than just a scornful, contumelious response
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contumelious
Adjective
-
On The Rookie, Jenna Dewan shared screentime with her real-life fiancé, Steve Kazee, who played her frightening, abusive husband, Jason Wyler.—
Tanya Melendez,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 Jan. 2026 -
The story follows a young woman, a lifelong swimmer and Olympic hopeful, who accepts a college swimming scholarship in Texas in order to escape an abusive father and an alcoholic, suicidal mother.—
Karla Rodriguez,
Footwear News,
6 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Many researchers cite those exact words as insulting or wrong when asked about their own terminations.—
STAT Staff,
STAT,
29 Dec. 2025
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With two toddlers and a 10-hour workday for her husband, the advice was more insulting than helpful.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
PEOPLE,
7 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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We were inspired by their outrageous VHS cover art that promised epic tales of heroic barbarians rescuing buxom babes from giant monsters.—
Bear McCreary,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Banners containing commercial, political or obscene material, or that block guest views.—
Ed Masley,
AZCentral.com,
4 Nov. 2025
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Just another week in the world of Ball, who was fined $35,000 by the NBA on Monday for making an obscene gesture in the fourth quarter of the Hornets’ 144-117 loss to Miami.—
Roderick Boone,
Charlotte Observer,
2 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Honor is not, in Mr. Sommers’s view, without its opprobrious aspects, not least its association with violence.—
Joseph Epstein,
WSJ,
3 Aug. 2018
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Cite this Entry
“Contumelious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contumelious. Accessed 9 Jan. 2026.
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