contemn

[kuhn-tem]

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verb (used with object)

to treat or regard with disdain, scorn, or contempt.

Origin of contemn

1375–1425; late Middle English contempnen (< Middle French) < Latin contemnere to despise, scorn, equivalent to con- con- + temnere to slight; see contempt

Related formscon·temn·er

[kuhn-tem-er, -tem-ner] /kənˈtɛm ər, -ˈtɛm nər/, con·tem·nor

[kuhn-tem-ner] /kənˈtɛm nər/, nouncon·tem·ni·ble

[kuhn-tem-nuh-buhl] /kənˈtɛm nə bəl/, adjectivecon·tem·ni·bly, adverbcon·temn·ing·ly, adverbpre·con·temn, verb (used with object)un·con·temned, adjectiveun·con·temn·ing, adjectiveun·con·temn·ing·ly, adverb

Can be confusedcondemn contemn

Synonyms for contemn

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scorn, disdain, despise.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for contemn

scorn, hate, disdain

Examples from the Web for contemn

Historical Examples of contemn

Perhaps this may appear to you to be only an old wife's tale, which you will contemn.
Gorgias
Plato
So it is with women: you should not contemn women because they rouse a devil in man.
The Soul of a People
H. Fielding
I contemn the world when I think on it, and myself when I translate it.
Discourses on Satire and on Epic Poetry
John Dryden
A religion,” said I, “in which you yourself do not believe, and which you contemn.
The Romany Rye
George Borrow
There was, in truth, danger lest the Rhodians should contemn the Romans!
The History of Rome, Books 37 to the End
Titus Livius

British Dictionary definitions for contemn

contemn

verb

(tr) formal to treat or regard with contempt; scorn

Derived Formscontemner (kənˈtɛmnə, -ˈtɛmə), nouncontemnible (kənˈtɛmnɪbəl), adjectivecontemnibly, adverb

Word Origin for contemn

C15: from Latin contemnere, from temnere to slight

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

Word Origin and History for contemn

mid-15c., from Old French contemner (15c.), from Latin contemnere "to despise, scorn" (see contempt).