as in contempt
open dislike for someone or something considered unworthy of one's concern or respect
showing undisguised disdain for the other employees
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to disrespect
to show contempt for
disdained the deserter as a coward
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of disdain
Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 30 Oct. 2025
But there’s nothing predictable about the paths of Kikuo and Shunsuke — or that of any of the characters, a case in point being the way a businessman (Takahiro Miura) who at first treats Kikuo with disdain becomes an ally.
—Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 29 Oct. 2025
Peter Bart, Deadline, 17 July 2025
He was torn between disdaining them and entertaining the possibility of getting into that business, which was clearly going to grow with the transition.
—Literary Hub, 16 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for disdain
Noun
Saban has been adamant about his disdain for what the college football coaching carousel has become.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 30 Oct. 2025
But there’s nothing predictable about the paths of Kikuo and Shunsuke — or that of any of the characters, a case in point being the way a businessman (Takahiro Miura) who at first treats Kikuo with disdain becomes an ally.
—Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 29 Oct. 2025
Verb
Even Netflix’s content factory is now licensing the very YouTube creators whom audiences once disdained as amateurs.
—Peter Bart, Deadline, 17 July 2025
He was torn between disdaining them and entertaining the possibility of getting into that business, which was clearly going to grow with the transition.
—Literary Hub, 16 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for disdain
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disdain
Noun
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Adding further controversy to the case, in 2024, Pras’ lawyer David Kenner pleaded guilty to criminal contempt of court for leaking confidential grand jury materials to Bloomberg News.—
Preezy Brown,
VIBE.com,
3 Nov. 2025
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While support for the president and contempt for the left has united conservative media for years, Gaza has been driving a wedge between two of the right’s biggest names.—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Screech your outrage, ACC schools disrespected by just one bid and pound your shoes on a desk somewhere, Notre Dame haters, especially those in the commonwealth of Kentucky and in the sunny setting of Miami.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
5 Nov. 2025
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In hundreds of communications reviewed by USA TODAY, Rochelle described falling behind on mortgage payments, needing help finding a daycare in Austin and feeling disrespected by caseworkers.—
Jayme Fraser,
USA Today,
30 Oct. 2025
Noun
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My darling, hatred takes the beauty away.—
Tracee Ellis Ross,
Glamour,
27 Oct. 2025
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Muschietti touched on this in his movies — the bullying of Mike Hanlon and the hate-crime murder of Adrian Mellon — including the way Pennywise fosters and foments the hatred already lurking in the hearts of Derry’s citizens.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
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When the pandemic arrived, Bellotti and Goodman recognized that the growing constituency of people who’d come to hate scientists could also, with the right messaging, be made to hate the fact that scientists experimented on animals.—
Ava Kofman,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
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Sometimes people love you, people hate you.—
Edward Segarra,
USA Today,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Trump supporters despised him, while some Democrats embraced him — if reluctantly — and still many others would always condemn him as a war criminal for his role in Iraq.—
Don Gonyea,
NPR,
4 Nov. 2025
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Both brothers despise their father, for good reason.—
Karl Ove Knausgaard,
New Yorker,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In the mayoral race between Zohran Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo, Adams was relegated to an afterthought, an object of ridicule and scorn.—
Molly Ball,
Time,
29 Oct. 2025
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Many skilled bartenders seem to scorn the Bloody Mary, regarding it as unserious and lightweight, just as many in the food world loathe brunch, the meal most often associated with the Bloody Mary, or wine people ridicule Sancerre, seeing it as a fallback order for people who know little about wine.—
The New York Times News Service Syndicate,
Denver Post,
28 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Disdain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disdain. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
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