condescend
Americanverb (used without object)
-
condescends,
present (3rd person singular)
-
condescended,
past participle, past
-
condescending
present participle
-
to behave as if one is conscious of descending from a superior position, rank, or dignity.
-
to stoop or deign to do something.
He would not condescend to misrepresent the facts.
-
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.
-
Obsolete.
-
to yield.
-
to assent.
-
verb
-
to act graciously towards another or others regarded as being on a lower level; behave patronizingly
-
to do something that one regards as below one's dignity
Usage
What does condescend mean? Condescend commonly means to interact with others in a way that implies that you’re superior to them. It especially refers to when this is done in an arrogant or patronizing way—meaning when you act as if you’re doing someone a favor by supposedly lowering yourself to their level of understanding or intelligence. This sense of the word is often used with the word to and the recipient of such behavior, as in Don’t condescend to me. This sense of condescend is always used negatively and implies that such behavior is insulting to the person or people it’s directed toward. The adjective condescending is used to describe people who act in such a way, or their words or actions, as in condescending tone. Condescending often involves not only what is said but also how it’s said. A condescending tone is often one that sounds like it’s directed at a child. Condescend can also mean to stoop to a lower level or to do something that one considers as below one's dignity. A close synonym of this sense of the word is deign. The act of condescending is called condescension. Example: Why do you feel the need to condescend every time you explain something?
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
condescendsimple
-
condescendssimple
-
have condescendedperfect
-
has condescendedperfect
-
am condescendingprogressive
-
are condescendingprogressive
-
is condescendingprogressive
-
have been condescendingperfect progressive
-
has been condescendingperfect progressive
Past
-
condescendedsimple
-
had condescendedperfect
-
was condescendingprogressive
-
were condescendingprogressive
-
had been condescendingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of condescend
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English condescenden, from Late Latin condēscendere ( see con-, descend); replacing Middle English condescendre, from Middle French
Explanation
A snooty waiter might condescend to serve you dinner at a fancy restaurant, meaning that he'd consider himself far too important to carry out the mundane task of delivering your hamburger and fries. You might have noticed that condescend contains the word descend, meaning to move down from a higher place. You can think of condescend as lowering yourself to do a task that you feel is far beneath you. Kings and queens would never condescend to do their own laundry at the palace, for example. If they even knew how to do the laundry, you can be sure they'd do it in a condescending, or superior, way to let everyone know that housework is no task for a monarch.
Vocabulary lists containing condescend
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 1–6
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Grade 10, List 3
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
"When I started coaching women for the first time, I did not condescend to them," said Dorrance.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2025
Don’t question the character of his backers or condescend; appeal to their interests and positive dreams.
From Seattle Times ● May 26, 2024
Shales did not condescend to his thumbs-up-or-down responsibilities.
From New York Times ● Jan. 17, 2024
“Because no matter how low on the totem pole you may be or wherever you came from, there’s no need to condescend or to put other people down.”
From Washington Post ● Oct. 18, 2022
“And what’s happened to you? I wonder you condescend to come back to such poor society as this, I am sure I do!”
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
In the American psyche, it’s the Miss Millie story line from Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple,” about someone so blinded by a conception of her own virtue that it doesn’t register when she condescends.
From Seattle Times ● May 2, 2024
He condescends; she bites back: “You always smile when you insult me.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2023
"Three 'verys'. Wow," he condescends, then signals her to lay her pitch on him.
From Salon ● May 8, 2023
Hopkins, a graduate of Winchester school and Cambridge University, condescends to his neighbors in Beadle.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 2, 2023
At the Camera there is just the same difficulty, which will hardly be overcome till the laws of nature are reformed, and light condescends to travel in convenient curves.
From Remarks on the practice and policy of lending Bodleian printed books and manuscripts by Henry W. Chandler
He was popular, but for a long time the critics condescended to him, calling him a lightweight Sunday painter and deriding him for his “matchstick” figures.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025
Still, she never condescended to or attacked Trump’s supporters.
From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2024
“The consistency of the experience of going to doctor after doctor, seeking help, and being disbelieved and condescended to is really surprising to me,” Garvin said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 15, 2023
And that doesn’t include the tweets from professional, blue-check-marked figures who have condescended to me and belittled my work or expertise.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 30, 2022
Harry took aim at it with the wand Ron had given him the previous night, which Hermione had since condescended to examine, and had decided was made of blackthorn.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
The video itself has been roundly seen as damaging to Miller, who comes across as bullying and condescending, and whose rage at the situation seems to be boiling just below the surface.
From Slate ● Aug. 3, 2026
“It’s pretentious indulgence and I’m making a condescending judgment that half the audience doesn’t have a clue about it.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026
It said that, in many cases, this was done through "prolonged nagging and with unpleasant and condescending language".
From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2026
He’s condescending to almost everyone except his church friends.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 6, 2026
We would rather run the risk of confusing them while at least appearing to be sophisticated than take a chance at belaboring the obvious while striking them as naive or condescending.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
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.
