definitions

condescend

[ kon-duh-send ]
/ ˌkɒn dəˈsɛnd /

verb (used without object)

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.
  1. to yield.
  2. to assent.

Nearby words

condensed matter physics, condensed milk, condensed-matter physics, condenser, condensing osteitis, condescend, condescendence, condescending, condescension, condign, condignity

Origin of condescend

1300–50; Middle English condescenden < Late Latin condēscendere (see con-, descend); replacing Middle English condescendre < Middle French

Related forms

con·des·cend·er, con·des·cend·ent, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for condescendent

condescend

/ (ˌkɒndɪˈsɛnd) /

verb (intr)

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

Word Origin for condescend

C14: from Church Latin condēscendere to stoop, condescend, from Latin dēscendere to descend
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