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contemptuous

American  
[kuhn-temp-choo-uhs] / kənˈtɛmp tʃu əs /

adjective

  1. showing or expressing contempt or disdain; scornful; disrespectful.

    Synonyms:
    haughty, supercilious, arrogant, insolent, disdainful
    Antonyms:
    respectful
contemptuous British  
/ kənˈtɛmptjʊəs /

adjective

  1. showing or feeling contempt; disdainful

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • contemptuously adverb
  • contemptuousness noun
  • half-contemptuous adjective
  • noncontemptuous adjective
  • noncontemptuousness noun
  • uncontemptuous adjective
  • uncontemptuousness noun

Etymology

Origin of contemptuous

First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin contemptu-, stem of contemptus “a slighting” ( contempt ) + -ous

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.