contemn
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
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
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.
"Did not William Blake contemn reason and paint the ghost of a flea?"
From Time Magazine Archive
Vile as these motives seem, they are too near akin to the general springs of human action for us to contemn them.
From A Trip to Cuba by Howe, Julia Ward
The King does not believe that I would contemn his commands--in his heart he does not, I am sure!
From Agincourt The Works of G. P. R. James, Volume XX by James, G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford)
We can scarcely find words sufficiently strong to contemn the heinous practice, so prevalent with low-minded people, of repeating to their friends whatever they hear to their disadvantage.
From The Ladies' Guide to True Politeness and Perfect Manners or, Miss Leslie's Behaviour Book by Leslie, Eliza
I would fain have persuaded him that it was a wild scheme; but he was a soldier, gentlemen, and accustomed to contemn all dangers.
From The Gipsy (Vols I & II) A Tale by James, G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford)
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.
