disdain
Americanverb (used with object)
-
disdains,
present (3rd person singular)
-
disdained,
past participle, past
-
disdaining
present participle
noun
noun
verb
Synonym Usage
See contempt.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
disdainsimple
-
disdainssimple
-
have disdainedperfect
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has disdainedperfect
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am disdainingprogressive
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are disdainingprogressive
-
is disdainingprogressive
-
have been disdainingperfect progressive
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has been disdainingperfect progressive
Past
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disdainedsimple
-
had disdainedperfect
-
was disdainingprogressive
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were disdainingprogressive
-
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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The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 1
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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:
College taught me to investigate the “great” composers who mattered and disdain those of no value.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
I am not going to calculate how many working Mondays I’ve had in my life, but even before I was working, I had a Garfield-esque disdain for the day.
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026
Another point in Europe’s favor is that international investors view the region much like Bessent does, with indifference if not disdain.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026
"I think that would absolutely go a long way to… undoing some of the disdain towards the water companies and get people on board to help look after our water resources."
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
Given the disdain I’d expressed for Everest over the years, one might reasonably assume that I declined to go on principle.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
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
Sandra Angelloz is another producer who disdains Reblochon's "garnish" status.
From Salon ● Dec. 13, 2022
Saturday seemed one of those days that disdains guile, cunning or disguise.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 10, 2022
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
Air conditioning, long disdained in France, is "no longer taboo at all", Jehanno said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
Though rigid about his schedule, he disdained not only cleanliness and exercise but regular medical care.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
But the nearer Manzo was to the center of traditional politics, the more he disdained them.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 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
But mainstream figures in science and the military disdained RW as ineffective, impractical, and immoral.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
How does a young woman go from disdaining weapons to designing them?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 2025
The British imposed additional penalties on the Americans, declaring them traitors, disdaining their petitions, subjecting their merchant ships to confiscation and hiring German mercenaries.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 18, 2021
Though “Vs.” is more of a reverse Kafka, with the witnesses disdaining the court’s authority.
From New York Times ● Aug. 1, 2021
But we manage, disdaining this driver we don’t know who takes forever to back out of his driveway.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 28, 2018
But I grew angry at the thought of the three men disdaining Cristiana.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
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.
