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Webster 1913 Edition
Contemptuous
Con-temp′tu-ous
(?; 135)
, Adj.
Manifesting or expressing contempt or disdain; scornful; haughty; insolent; disdainful.
A proud,
contemptuous
behavior. Hammond.
Savage invective and
contemptuous
sarcasm. Macaulay.
Syn. – Scornful; insolent; haughty; disdainful; supercilious; insulting; contumelious.
–
Contemptuous
, Contemptible
. These words, from their similarity of sound, are sometimes erroneously interchanged, as when a person speaks of having “a very contemptible opinion of another.” Contemptible is applied to that which is the object of contempt; as, contemptible conduct; acontemptible fellow. Contemptuous is applied to that which indicates contempt; as, a contemptuous look; a contemptuous remark; contemptuous treatment. A person, or whatever is personal, as an action, an expression, a feeling, an opinion, may be either contemptuous or contemptible; a thing may be contemptible, but can not be contemptuous. Webster 1828 Edition
Contemptuous
CONTEMPTUOUS
,Adj.
Definition 2024
contemptuous
contemptuous
English
Adjective
contemptuous (comparative more contemptuous, superlative most contemptuous)
- Showing contempt; expressing disdain; showing a lack of respect.
- I don't know that guy, but he just gave me a contemptuous look.
- 1922, Ben Travers, chapter 5, in A Cuckoo in the Nest:
- The most rapid and most seductive transition in all human nature is that which attends the palliation of a ravenous appetite. […] Can those harmless but refined fellow-diners be the selfish cads whose gluttony and personal appearance so raised your contemptuous wrath on your arrival?
Derived terms
Related terms
Synonyms
Antonyms
Translations
showing contempt
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