condescending
Americanadjective
Usage
What does condescending mean? To be condescending is 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.Condescending is always used negatively and implies that such behavior is insulting to the person or people it’s directed toward.The word can be used to describe a person, their actions, or their words. It’s especially applied to words like comment, tone, and attitude. Being 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.Condescending is most commonly used as an adjective, but it’s also the continuous tense (-ing form) of the verb condescend, which most commonly means to act in this way. The act of doing so is called condescension.Example: You don’t have to be so condescending by explaining it to me with small words—I understand the topic just fine.
Other Word Forms
- condescendingly adverb
- noncondescending adjective
- noncondescendingly adverb
- noncondescendingness noun
- uncondescending adjective
- uncondescendingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of condescending
First recorded in 1630–40; condescend + -ing 2
Compare meaning
How does condescending compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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.
“Sir, what I’m getting upset about a little bit here is your tone, that you’re saying it in a condescending way,” Mullin responded.
From Slate • Mar. 18, 2026
Though his acidic sense of humour -- criticised as condescending by some -- is evident throughout, Parr's 180 photographs also amount to a portrait of human folly and environmental destruction.
From Barron's • Jan. 30, 2026
It shows us that he could be down-to-earth without ever condescending to his readers.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025
Ms Rose added that a response she received from an assistant chief constable had been "condescending."
From BBC • Jan. 20, 2025
I’d been condescending to them; I thought it was in secret, but they’d been aware of it the whole time — and instead of holding it against me, they’d indulged it.
From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer
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.
