contemn

[ kuhn-tem ]

/ kənˈtɛm /

verb (used with object)

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

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

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 confusedcondemn 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 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 contemned

contemn

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