contemn

[kuhn-tem]

verb (used with object)

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

   Synonyms: scorn, despise, disdain

contemn

/ kənˈtɛm, -ˈtɛmə, kənˈtɛmnɪbəl, kənˈtɛmnə /

verb

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

Other Word Forms

• contemner noun
• contemnor noun
• contemnible adjective
• contemnibly adverb
• contemningly adverb
• precontemn verb (used with object)
• uncontemned adjective
• uncontemning adjective
• uncontemningly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of contemn¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of contemn¹

C15: from Latin contemnere, from temnere to slight

Example Sentences

Then again, what mainly unites the leaders of the new dictators’ club is the shared perception that they stand to lose very little in working against a country they detest and a president they contemn.

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For instance, the medical team that initially saw Mr. Duncan did not share information about his past in Liberia, and it took days for a potentially contemned apartment to be cleaned.

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The King does not believe that I would contemn his commands--in his heart he does not, I am sure!

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As Æneas says, “Capistrano had despised the pomps of the world, he had fled from its delights, he had trampled down avarice, he had overcome lust, but he could not contemn glory.”

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Clarendon complained that the Prince "too affectedly" despised what was said of him, and "too stoically contemned the affections of men."

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