contempt
Americannoun
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the feeling with which a person regards anything considered mean, vile, or worthless; disdain; scorn.
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the state of being despised; dishonor; disgrace.
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Law.
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willful disobedience to or open disrespect for the rules or orders of a court contempt of court or legislative body.
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an act showing such disrespect.
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noun
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the attitude or feeling of a person towards a person or thing that he considers worthless or despicable; scorn
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the state of being scorned; disgrace (esp in the phrase hold in contempt )
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wilful disregard of or disrespect for the authority of a court of law or legislative body
contempt of court
Synonym Usage
contempt , disdain , scorn imply strong feelings of disapproval and aversion toward what seems base, mean, or worthless. contempt is disapproval tinged with disgust: to feel contempt for a weakling . disdain is a feeling that a person or thing is beneath one's dignity and unworthy of one's notice, respect, or concern: a disdain for crooked dealing . scorn denotes open or undisguised contempt often combined with derision: He showed only scorn for those who were not as ambitious as himself.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of contempt
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin contemptus “despising, scorn,” noun derivative of contemnere “to despise, scorn”; see contemn
Explanation
Reserve the noun contempt for an extreme lack of respect: a food snob has nothing but contempt for mass-produced burgers and fries at a fast-food joint. Contempt has nothing to do with the verb condemn, despite the similarity in sound and meaning; it is from Latin temnere "to despise," and if you despise someone, you have contempt for them. It's a harsh term and should be used with care; it's stronger than either disdain or scorn. It suggests you find someone or something utterly worthless. That food snob might say the words "Big Mac" or "Whopper" with a voice dripping in contempt.
Vocabulary lists containing contempt
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Grade 9, List 6
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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.
Could your ex-husband be held in contempt of court based on his actions?
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
Without cameras or timely released transcripts or audio, moments of pettiness, score settling, or open contempt for colleagues or parties by the justices can, and have, gone almost entirely unnoticed.
From Slate ● Jul. 2, 2026
On Thursday he may have pushed that contempt for convention a little too far, with Kaan Ayhan goal’s deep in stoppage time giving Turkey a 3-2 win and spoiling the Americans’ unbeaten start.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
Kenya's Health Minister Aden Duale has been found guilty of contempt of court over his handling of the construction of a controversial US-funded Ebola quarantine facility.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
Pity, but contempt, too, that it'd allowed itself to get so weak.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
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.
