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:
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
I grew up in a region trained to despise New York sports teams.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
It’s also difficult to gauge how many of Iran’s 93 million people despise the government enough to rise up against it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 3, 2026
Iran has about 90 million people, many of whom despise the regime, many of whom revere it.
From Slate ● Mar. 2, 2026
I have, therefore, made up my mind to tell you, that I do not want to dance a reel at all—and now despise me if you dare.”
From "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen
He’s retiring from his House seat this cycle because he has a young family and genuinely despises political life in Washington.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026
There are few things Friedman despises more than a deadline trade.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026
These days, the online literati despises Shriver as a matter of principle.
From The Wall Street Journal ● 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
I know he despises being useless, sitting still while war overtakes us.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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
Bogle almost certainly would’ve despised cryptocurrency ETFs as speculative instruments that produce no cash flow.
From Barron's ● Mar. 25, 2026
With even weaker religious credentials than his father, Mr. Khamenei owes his accession to the hereditary principle despised by the 1979 revolution.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 9, 2026
If the person I cared most about in the world despised my efforts, how could I hope that anyone else would like it?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 16, 2026
The barren rock was called “the heaven-built isle,” and from being the most despised it became the most renowned of islands.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
Haney reminded jurors that despising the rich isn’t a crime, much less an abnormal opinion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
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
I see movies that I end up despising and I’m still glad I went because I got to have a pretzel and an ice-cold soda and not look at my phone for a few hours.”
From Salon ● Jan. 1, 2025
When his father told him about Ruth, he joined him in despising her, but he felt put upon; felt as though some burden had been given to him and that he didn’t deserve it.
From "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison
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.
