Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

despise

American  
[dih-spahyz] / dɪˈspaɪz /

verb (used with object)

despised, despising

  1. to regard with contempt, distaste, disgust, or disdain; scorn; loathe.

    Synonyms:
    detest, contemn
    Antonyms:
    admire
despise British  
/ dɪˈspaɪz /

verb

  1. (tr) to look down on with contempt; scorn

    he despises flattery
"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

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

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.