disdain
Americanverb (used with object)
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disdains,
present (3rd person singular)
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disdained,
past participle, past
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disdaining
present participle
noun
noun
verb
Synonym Usage
See contempt.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
disdainsimple
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disdainssimple
-
have disdainedperfect
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has disdainedperfect
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am disdainingprogressive
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are disdainingprogressive
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is disdainingprogressive
-
have been disdainingperfect progressive
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has been disdainingperfect progressive
Past
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disdainedsimple
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had disdainedperfect
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was disdainingprogressive
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were disdainingprogressive
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had been disdainingperfect progressive
Future
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
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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.
See Examples For:
But his move to America in 1987 was initially greeted with disdain by the Los Angeles Times, who wrote him off as an "unknown British Shakespearean actor."
From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2026
Though the polls are tight, Sand, a two-term statewide incumbent, has a clear lead in a campaign where he long established a moderate image and emphasized his disdain for politics as usual.
From Slate ● Oct. 28, 2026
It opened in 1986 to empty theaters and critical disdain, and failed to recoup its budget of $3 million before it was yanked from screens and effectively disappeared for 30 years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026
"You can not continue to engage with someone who is so blatant in her disregard and disdain for a large section of this community," she said.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
I am disturbed by those who revere us far more than those who disdain us.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
With no action expected on rates on Wednesday, the attention will be on him: Will he submit a forecast for rate projections he disdains?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
John-Calum McLeod, or Cal, returns to Scotland’s Isle of Harris after attending art school in Glasgow and finds it difficult to coexist with his father, also named John, who disdains everything about him.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
The former Fox News personality, who served as an Army National Guard infantry officer in Iraq and Afghanistan, disdains rules of engagement and other guardrails as constraining to the “warrior ethos.”
From Salon ● Mar. 11, 2026
Plot synopses of “Carmen” traditionally depicted a young man reduced to despair and driven to violence by the charms of a wild woman who works in a cigarette factory and disdains conventional morality.
From New York Times ● Nov. 9, 2022
Do you see how awful it is to be in love with someone who disdains you?
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
Speaking to Slate, Sand insisted he disdained the party system despite the fact that he not only was a two-time statewide elected official as a Democrat but had worked on Democratic campaigns in his youth.
From Slate ● Oct. 26, 2026
Air conditioning, long disdained in France, is "no longer taboo at all", Jehanno said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
In a December 1904 message to Congress, Roosevelt disdained any “unmanly” inclination to a “peace of tyrannous terror, the peace of craven weakness, the peace of injustice.”
From Salon ● Dec. 27, 2025
A spokesman pointed me to an interview in which AWS CEO Matt Garman disdained the idea of replacing entry-level staff with AI bots, calling it “one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2025
Many Progressives—who tended to be middle-class white Protestants—held deep prejudices against immigrants and blacks and were so convinced of their own virtuous authority that they disdained democratic procedures.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
Elon Musk, best known for disdaining fossil fuels and selling close to 10 million electric vehicles, is actively advocating natural-gas turbines for data centers and chip factories.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
Nxe3 Bf6!, again disdaining the rook on h4 to keep the attack humming.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 19, 2023
But China remains hunkered down in its own nuclear bunker, disdaining U.S. invitations to discuss strategic stability.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 25, 2023
Though “Vs.” is more of a reverse Kafka, with the witnesses disdaining the court’s authority.
From New York Times ● Aug. 1, 2021
But I grew angry at the thought of the three men disdaining Cristiana.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
