contemptuous
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of contemptuous
First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin contemptu-, stem of contemptus “a slighting” ( see contempt) + -ous
Explanation
If you insult someone or dismiss them in a hateful way, you're being contemptuous. The difference between being hateful and contemptuous is subtle. It involves disdain. Being contemptuous of someone or something means that you're combining a deep dislike for them with condescension. To insult someone is a good way of showing contempt, i.e., of being contemptuous. "You disgust me," is one of the simplest and most contemptuous things you can say to someone. "You're stupid," is another. If you can think of something that both hurts a person and suggests that you're looking down on them, you've come up with a contemptuous thing to say.
Vocabulary lists containing contemptuous
To Kill a Mockingbird
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Grade 10, List 2
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The Pearl
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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.
His two main characters, infantrymen named Willie and Joe, were bedraggled, unshaven, dirty, tired to the bone, contemptuous of authority—in other words, mirror images of many of the real soldiers fighting that war.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026
Sara Hershkowitz’s wildly contemptuous Queen adds further soprano glory.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026
Before long, the band was playing in New York, rubbing shoulders with Patti Smith, Talking Heads and Blondie at CBGBs and shaking punks out of their contemptuous indifference.
From BBC • Mar. 17, 2026
She barely appears alongside her husband, and when she does, her body language often reads as reluctant at best, contemptuous at worst.
From Salon • Jan. 31, 2026
Everything inside him felt cold and tight: Again he saw the contemptuous expression on Ron’s face.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
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.
