contemptible

[ kuhn-temp-tuh-buhl ]
See synonyms for contemptible on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. deserving of or held in contempt; despicable.

  2. Obsolete. contemptuous.

Origin of contemptible

1
1350–1400; Middle English (<Middle French ) <Late Latin contemptibilis, equivalent to contempt(us) (see contempt) + -ibilis-ible

Other words for contemptible

Opposites for contemptible

Other words from contemptible

  • con·tempt·i·bil·i·ty, con·tempt·i·ble·ness, noun
  • con·tempt·i·bly, adverb
  • non·con·tempt·i·bil·i·ty, noun
  • non·con·tempt·i·ble, adjective
  • non·con·tempt·i·ble·ness, noun
  • non·con·tempt·i·bly, adverb
  • un·con·tempt·i·bil·i·ty, noun
  • un·con·tempt·i·ble, adjective
  • un·con·tempt·i·ble·ness, noun
  • un·con·tempt·i·bly, adverb

Words that may be confused with contemptible

Words Nearby contemptible

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

How to use contemptible in a sentence

  • I should be ashamed to show my face at Heaven's gates and say I came from such a contemptible planet.

    God and my Neighbour | Robert Blatchford
  • My hero of yesterday, the hero of the glorious struggle of the People,—how contemptible he has proved himself, how cravenly small!

    Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist | Alexander Berkman
  • It is enough if the defendant induces an ill opinion to be held of the plaintiff, or to make him contemptible or ridiculous.

  • Behold I have made thee small among the nations: thou art exceeding contemptible.

  • Selby was one who felt more or less of shame at the contemptible part he was expected to play.

    Hunted and Harried | R.M. Ballantyne

British Dictionary definitions for contemptible

contemptible

/ (kənˈtɛmptəbəl) /


adjective
  1. deserving or worthy of contempt; despicable

Derived forms of contemptible

  • contemptibility or contemptibleness, noun
  • contemptibly, adverb

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