despise
Americanverb (used with object)
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despises,
present (3rd person singular)
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despised,
past participle, past
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despising
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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despisablenessnoun
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despisernoun
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despisableadjective
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undespisedadjective
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undespisingadjective
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despisinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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despisesimple
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despisessimple
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have despisedperfect
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has despisedperfect
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am despisingprogressive
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are despisingprogressive
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is despisingprogressive
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have been despisingperfect progressive
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has been despisingperfect progressive
Past
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despisedsimple
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had despisedperfect
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was despisingprogressive
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were despisingprogressive
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had been despisingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of despise
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English despisen, from Old French despis-, stem of despire, from Latin dēspicere; see despicable
Explanation
If the mere thought of a burrito with sour cream in it turns your stomach, you could say that you despise sour cream. You loathe it, abhor it, hate it, and think it's vile. Despise dates all the way back to the Latin word despicare, which combines de "down" with specere "to look at." So if you look down your nose at something, you could say you despise it. Nowadays the word gets used a lot to describe things people really, really dislike, too. Note how similar in meaning and spelling despise is to Sylvester the cartoon cat's old favorite catchphrase despicable. Despicable means something worth of being despised.
Vocabulary lists containing despise
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 16–19
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Bridge to Terabithia
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Bronx Masquerade
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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.
See Examples For:
“Let me be clear, it’s really difficult to both be proud of Kash and despise him at the same time,” Patel says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
Co-signers include the Open Markets Institute, an anti-monopoly advocacy and research group in Washington that tends to despise Big Tech, and the Writer’s Guild.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
But it has also triggered an unexpected wave of nostalgia, with some Delhi residents expressing affection for a place they often claimed to despise.
From BBC ● May 25, 2026
“As I understand ‘The View,’ which I despise, that’s what they do.
From Salon ● May 13, 2026
The family, including Maman, despise the boy’s Nazi collaboration, but they fuss and cluck over him when he visits home.
From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein
But Donio isn’t giving up his 2020 Audi A4, which he enjoys despite it having the feature he despises.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026
“I am thrilled about that. That makes me qualified to be homeland security secretary and senior adviser to the president,” referring to Noem and Stephen Miller, whom Tillis also despises.
From Slate ● Jan. 31, 2026
And “Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner, but blessed is he who is generous to the poor.”
From Salon ● Apr. 13, 2025
Cicero, who despises Catalina for his reckless idealism, is one of many characters trying to bring the architect to heel.
From New York Times ● May 16, 2024
“He loses no opportunity to let me see that he despises me and I inspire aversion in him,” Theo tells Wil.
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
After all, Miriam may have been despised by everyone who actually knew her, but she still constitutes the family business.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
Burnham has long been unusual as a politician - a leader who has managed to be popular in a time when politicians often disappoint and are sometimes despised.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
It’s about understanding that that the removal of a single despised figurehead isn’t enough.
From Salon ● May 8, 2026
Bogle almost certainly would’ve despised cryptocurrency ETFs as speculative instruments that produce no cash flow.
From Barron's ● Mar. 25, 2026
Zethus was a man of great physical strength who despised his brother’s neglect of manly sports and his devotion to his art.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
He is described as a man who had “poked his chin up sideways, carrying his nose with that aforesaid appearance of ‘sniff,’ as though despising an egg which he knew he could not digest.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026
Society is depicted as "worshiping only power and money, despising art, sensitivity, tenderness, where people ...don't talk anymore."
From Barron's ● Apr. 3, 2026
“Everything Cohen says about adulating, and then despising Trump, is bolstered and corroborated by massive other evidence.”
From Salon ● May 16, 2024
"It's astonishing how people can put so much vitriol and energy into despising someone. It's extraordinarily damaging," she says of the most bitter sibling rivalry.
From BBC ● Feb. 10, 2024
Even after they’d given up trying to make Leslie miserable, they’d kept on despising her—as though there was one of them worth the nail on Leslie’s little toe.
From "Bridge to Terabithia" by Katherine Paterson
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
