contemn
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word 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
His Good Word for Everybody Indeed, he has a good word for everybody, and discerns laudable qualities in some whom the world has agreed to contemn and cast out.
From Literary Shrines The Haunts of Some Famous American Authors by Theodore F. (Theodore Frelinghuysen) Wolfe
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.”
From A History of The Inquisition of The Middle Ages; volume II by Henry Charles Lea
Perhaps it was due to perseverance having been rewarded and to having gained a lodging that, hungry though they were, they began to contemn their supply of bread.
From George Alfred Henty The Story of an Active Life by George Manville Fenn
What right," she asked herself, "has this man to undervalue and contemn my purpose?
From The Adventures of a Widow A Novel by Edgar Fawcett
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