noun
verb
Related Words
See contempt.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of disdain
First recorded in 1300–50; (for the verb) Middle English disdainen, from Anglo-French de(s)deigner, equivalent to dis- 1 + deign; noun derivative of the verb
Explanation
If you feel that something isn't worthy of your consideration, you may disdain it (or treat it with disdain). In Old French, deignier meant "to treat something as worthy." To disdain something, then, is to treat it with contempt: "Management at [the company] displayed a certain disdain for safety and appeared to regard safety-conscious workers as wimps in the organization." As a verb, disdain carries an air of self-righteousness not associated with similar words like despise, abhor, detest, loathe and scorn. So if you disdain something, you might reject it with a haughty scoff, "Ha!"
Vocabulary lists containing disdain
100 Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know
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The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 1
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100 Top "SAT" Words
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Their relationship is really hanging on by a thread and actually it's their mutual disdain of this Gen Z couple, and all the things about them that are annoying, that binds us."
From BBC • Apr. 21, 2026
His version of disdain is her idea of a fortune.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026
Everyone hates the Girl Boss, but female founders really were underresourced, and female ambition really was treated with disdain and distrust.
From Slate • Mar. 31, 2026
In addition to grime, gore and disdain for governments, the ragtime gangsters of “Peaky Blinders” provided a minor education.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026
I watched my feet navigate the tripwires we’d set up yesterday and avoided her disdain.
From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
