despise
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
- despisable adjective
- despisableness noun
- despiser noun
- despisingly adverb
- undespised adjective
- undespising adjective
Etymology
Origin of despise
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English despisen, from Old French despis-, stem of despire, from Latin dēspicere; despicable
Explanation
If the mere thought of a burrito with sour cream in it turns your stomach, you could say that you despise sour cream. You loathe it, abhor it, hate it, and think it's vile. Despise dates all the way back to the Latin word despicare, which combines de "down" with specere "to look at." So if you look down your nose at something, you could say you despise it. Nowadays the word gets used a lot to describe things people really, really dislike, too. Note how similar in meaning and spelling despise is to Sylvester the cartoon cat's old favorite catchphrase despicable. Despicable means something worth of being despised.
Vocabulary lists containing despise
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 16–19
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Bridge to Terabithia
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Bronx Masquerade
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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.
It’s also difficult to gauge how many of Iran’s 93 million people despise the government enough to rise up against it.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 3, 2026
A third cousin, a gospel-of-success evangelical pastor played by Topher Grace, is easy to dislike but a bit more difficult to despise.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 19, 2026
That will bring relief to investors and the many Argentine citizens who despise the hold the party has long held over the nation’s political and economic life.
From Barron's • Oct. 31, 2025
That famous quotation that is always misattributed to Voltaire, “I despise what you say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it.”
From Slate • Sep. 22, 2025
Now I pitied them, pitied them in order not to despise them.
From "The Fire Next Time" by James Baldwin
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.
