condescend

[ kon-duh-send ]
See synonyms for: condescendcondescendingcondescends on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object)
  1. to behave as if one is conscious of descending from a superior position, rank, or dignity.

  2. to stoop or deign to do something: He would not condescend to misrepresent the facts.

  1. to put aside one's dignity or superiority voluntarily and assume equality with one regarded as inferior: He condescended to their intellectual level in order to be understood.

  2. Obsolete.

    • to yield.

    • to assent.

Origin of condescend

1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English condescenden, from Late Latin condēscendere (see con-, descend); replacing Middle English condescendre, from Middle French

Other words from condescend

  • con·des·cend·er, con·des·cend·ent, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use condescend in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for condescend

condescend

/ (ˌkɒndɪˈsɛnd) /


verb(intr)
  1. to act graciously towards another or others regarded as being on a lower level; behave patronizingly

  2. to do something that one regards as below one's dignity

Origin of condescend

1
C14: from Church Latin condēscendere to stoop, condescend, from Latin dēscendere to descend

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