despise
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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despisablenessnoun
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despisernoun
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despisableadjective
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undespisedadjective
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undespisingadjective
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despisinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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despisesimple
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despisessimple
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have despisedperfect
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has despisedperfect
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am despisingprogressive
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are despisingprogressive
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is despisingprogressive
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have been despisingperfect progressive
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has been despisingperfect progressive
Past
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despisedsimple
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had despisedperfect
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was despisingprogressive
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were despisingprogressive
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had been despisingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of despise
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English despisen, from Old French despis-, stem of despire, from Latin dēspicere; see 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.
But it has also triggered an unexpected wave of nostalgia, with some Delhi residents expressing affection for a place they often claimed to despise.
From BBC • May 25, 2026
Iran has about 90 million people, many of whom despise the regime, many of whom revere it.
From Slate • Mar. 2, 2026
People either love the sitcom’s cartoonish flourishes or despise them.
From Salon • Feb. 26, 2026
Atencio’s fiendish feline would have followed guests throughout the ride, a creature said to despise living humans and with predatory, possessive instincts.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 5, 2025
“Another minute, and she will despise me for a hypocrite,” thought I; and an impulse of fury against Reed, Brocklehurst, and Co. bounded in my pulses at the conviction.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
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.
