despicable

[des-pi-kuh-buhl, dih-spik-uh-]

adjective

1. deserving to be despised, or regarded with distaste, disgust, or disdain; contemptible.

   He was a mean, despicable man, who treated his wife and children badly.

   Synonyms: detestable, mean, vile
   Antonyms: admirable

despicable

/ dɪˈspɪkəbəl, ˈdɛspɪk- /

adjective

1. worthy of being despised; contemptible; mean

Other Word Forms

• despicably adverb
• despicability noun
• despicableness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of despicable¹

1545–55; < Late Latin dēspicābilis, equivalent to Latin dēspic ( ārī ) to despise or dēspic ( ere ) to look down ( dē- de- + -spic- look, combining form of specere ) + -ābilis -able

Word History and Origins

Origin of despicable¹

C16: from Late Latin dēspicābilis, from dēspicārī to disdain; compare _despise

Example Sentences

Sir Keir said it was "un-British to have little respect for others" by staging demonstrations on the anniversary and argued the protests had been used by some as a "despicable excuse to attack British Jews".

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Sir Keir said it was "un-British" to hold protests on the anniversary which, he said, had been used by some as a "despicable excuse to attack British Jews".

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Supervisor Janice Hahn called the practice of paying for plaintiffs “despicable” and said any attorney guilty of the practice “should be disbarred, and their share of the settlement should go to the victims of abuse.”

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A fire at a London hotel housing asylum seekers is being treated as a hate crime and has been condemned as a "despicable and cowardly attack".

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"These despicable, politically motivated attacks against law enforcement are not a one-off."

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Related Words

• contemptible 
• degrading 
• disgraceful 
• disreputable 
• loathsome 
• reprehensible 
• shameful 
• vile 
• wretched