contemptuous

adjective

con·temp·tu·ous kən-ˈtem(p)-chə-wəs

-chəs,

-shwəs,

-chü-əs

Synonyms of contemptuous next

: manifesting, feeling, or expressing deep hatred or disapproval : feeling or showing contempt

contemptuously adverb

contemptuousness noun

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What Is the Difference Between contemptuous and contemptible?

Contemptuous and contemptible are sometimes confused with each other. This is neither surprising, as they are similar in appearance, nor is it unprecedented: the words were used interchangeably for several hundred years (from the 16^th through the 18^th century), with each one meaning both "deserving contempt" and "showing contempt." By the early 19^th century, some commentators began raising objections when the words were used synonymously, suggesting that they should be distinguished, with contemptuous meaning only "showing contempt" and contemptible only "deserving contempt."

In the following passage, for example, a would-be critic is ridiculed for using contemptible in the sense "showing contempt":

“Young man! my opinion of you is very contemptible.” “All your opinions are contemptible,” rejoined Phillip, quietly. – Garry Avenel, Zou Mou, in The Iris, September, 1841

The distinction hinted at in this rebuke has been observed in English, by professional writers anyway, for close to 200 years.

Example Sentences

He owned a fine Kentucky rifle, with a cherry wood stock, and was contemptuous of the bulky carbines most of the troop had adopted. —

Larry McMurtry, Dead Man's Walk, 1995

In his 1978 Harvard commencement address, Mr. Solzhenitsyn seemed at times contemptuous of American democracy … —

Daniel Patrick Moynihan, New York Times Book Review, 24 Nov. 1991

He felt familiar enough to indulge in outbursts of rage or contemptuous sarcasm in her presence, and to display the most withering side of his character, lashing out at the people he despised. —

Cynthia Ozick, New Yorker, 20 Nov. 1989

loutish tourists who are contemptuous of the ways and traditions of their host countries contemptuous comments about the baseball team's pathetic showings

Recent Examples on the Web Cheers to the reunion of one of TV's most hilariously contemptuous couples! —

Brandon Livesay, Peoplemag, 1 Mar. 2023 As Republicans have grown more contemptuous of democratic institutions, Democrats have lent them more conspicuous support. —

Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 7 Nov. 2022 Events like the derailment in East Palestine are opportunities to advance a cynical narrative in the most contemptuous possible way. —

Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 22 Feb. 2023 From time to time, too, the camera aligns itself with the silent, contemptuous gaze of Ragnar (Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson), the Icelandic farmer hired to guide Lucas on his way north. —

Justin Changfilm Critic, Los Angeles Times, 9 Feb. 2023 But the state broke for Joe Biden in 2020, prompting fringe conspiracies and contemptuous non-concessions to proligerate for years since. —

Philip Elliott, Time, 20 Jan. 2023 Criminals in West Oakland were heavily armed and contemptuous of law enforcement. —

Ali Winston, Rolling Stone, 9 Jan. 2023 Hitchcock’s dryly sinister prime-time persona—perched, like one of his malevolent crows, on the tightrope between magisterial narcissism and gently contemptuous self-deprecation—was a sustained, good-natured joke. —

Adam Nayman, The New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2022 After Dobbs, the media portrayed the Court as antidemocratic, counter-majoritarian, and contemptuous of public opinion. —

WSJ, 15 Nov. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'contemptuous.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.