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

looking down (on)

verb

present participle of look down (on)
as in looking (toward)

Related Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for looking down (on)
  1. neighboring
  2. adjoining
  3. bordering
Verb
  • At its base, large chamfered openings break up the building’s mass and create a visual link with the neighboring First Baptist Church.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 23 Sep. 2026
  • The Biden administration imposed the measures in 2021 over human rights abuses committed during the Tigray war in neighboring Ethiopia.
    — Adrian Elimian, semafor.com, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of neighboring
Verb
  • Undeterred, the three friends bought the hotel and adjoining property for $3 million and have since spent over $10 million on renovations and redesign.
    — Madeleine Kashkooli, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Aug. 2026
  • The film could use a few more such colorful secondary strands adjoining the main conflict, though one subplot involving a maybe-romance between two jaded journalists assigned to the summit is oddly framed and abruptly dropped.
    — Guy Lodge, Variety, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of adjoining
Verb
  • Dussey’s country, Togo, a West African nation bordering Ghana and Burkina Faso, was the driving force behind a UN General Assembly vote to replace the traditional world map with one that more accurately reflects the size of Africa.
    — Leonard Greene, New York Daily News, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Stops Pretty Places had just turned 18 when her body was found in a town bordering the Crow Reservation in 2019.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of bordering
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

looking daggers
looking down (on)
looking down one's nose (at)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Looking down (on).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/looking%20down%20%28on%29. Accessed 28 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 fungible

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

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
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
image of the words cracker fly and sale arranged in a triangle with the word fire in the middle
Triple Play Quiz Find the word that pairs with each of the three g...
See All