contemn

[ kuhn-tem ]

/ kənˈtɛm /

verb (used with object)

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

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

contamination, contango, contd, contd., conte, contemn, contemp., contemplable, contemplate, contemplation, contemplative

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

SYNONYMS FOR contemn

scorn, disdain, despise.

Related forms

con·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, adverb

pre·con·temn, verb (used with object)un·con·temned, adjectiveun·con·temn·ing, adjectiveun·con·temn·ing·ly, adverb

Can be confused

condemn contemn

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

Examples from the Web for contemned

But he is contemned and made the sieve to catch the flying chaff of our streets.
Original Penny Readings|George Manville Fenn
Personal advantage—individual distinction—were things that never occurred to his imagination, or occurred only to be contemned.
The Life and Correspondence of Sir Isaac Brock|Ferdinand Brock Tupper
He admired all the cycle of great men who all contemned each other.
Robert Browning|G. K. Chesterton
Much as she contemned Ingram, she was on his side against Struan any day.
Rest Harrow|Maurice Hewlett

But the lustre of that exaggerated glow, and the booming concord of fancied spirit-voices were all contemned as trifles.
Cord and Creese|James de Mille

British Dictionary definitions for contemned

contemn

/ (kənˈtɛm) /

verb

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

Derived Forms

contemner (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