despicable

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

/ ˈdɛs pɪ kə bəl, dɪˈspɪk ə- /

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adjective

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.

OTHER WORDS FOR despicable

vile, mean, detestable.

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OPPOSITES FOR despicable

admirable.

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Origin of despicable

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

OTHER WORDS FROM despicable

des·pi·ca·bil·i·ty, des·pi·ca·ble·ness, noundes·pi·ca·bly, adverb

How to use despicable in a sentence

More despicably, mothers often bear the brunt of the communal stigma.
Why Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Babies Keep Getting Herpes|Emily Shire|July 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And, despicably, they used the memory of the four slain Americans as cover for their election-year political strategy.
How Republicans Twist Benghazi|Dean Obeidallah|May 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As it turns out, they do so selfishly, obnoxiously, and despicably.
‘This Is the End’ Craziest Moments Quiz: Which Celeb Did What?|Kevin Fallon|June 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Without a doubt, Dharun Ravi behaved despicably to his Rutgers roommate.
Tyler Clementi, Dharun Ravi, and the Problem With Hate Crimes Laws|Michael Medved|March 20, 2012|DAILY BEAST

She had set herself a task and she clung to it; but she appeared to herself despicably idle.
The Real Thing and Other Tales|Henry James
I like it in the French style, all but the lait; that destroys the flavor, besides making it despicably weak.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 14, No. 85, November, 1864|Various
But opinion feels that there is something despicably sordid in using this particular relation as a financial engine.
The Agrarian Problem in the Sixteenth Century|Richard Henry Tawney
We cant afford it is the plea most frequently heard, and a despicably selfish one it is.
Modern marriage and how to bear it|Maud Churton Braby
Trust me, there's many a man who would like to be generous, but is made despicably mean by necessity.
New Grub Street|George Gissing

British Dictionary definitions for despicable

despicable

/ (dɪˈspɪkəbəl, ˈdɛspɪk-) /

adjective

worthy of being despised; contemptible; mean

Derived forms of despicable

despicability or despicableness, noundespicably, adverb

Word Origin for despicable

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

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

despicable

OTHER WORDS FOR despicable

OPPOSITES FOR despicable

Origin of despicable

OTHER WORDS FROM despicable

Words related to despicable

How to use despicable in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for despicable

Derived forms of despicable

Word Origin for despicable