disdain
Americanverb (used with object)
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disdains,
present (3rd person singular)
-
disdained,
past participle, past
-
disdaining
present participle
noun
noun
verb
Synonym Usage
See contempt.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
disdainsimple
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disdainssimple
-
have disdainedperfect
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has disdainedperfect
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am disdainingprogressive
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are disdainingprogressive
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is disdainingprogressive
-
have been disdainingperfect progressive
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has been disdainingperfect progressive
Past
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disdainedsimple
-
had disdainedperfect
-
was disdainingprogressive
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were disdainingprogressive
-
had been disdainingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of disdain
First recorded in 1300–50; (for the verb) Middle English disdainen, from Anglo-French de(s)deigner, equivalent to dis- 1 + deign; noun derivative of the verb
Explanation
If you feel that something isn't worthy of your consideration, you may disdain it (or treat it with disdain). In Old French, deignier meant "to treat something as worthy." To disdain something, then, is to treat it with contempt: "Management at [the company] displayed a certain disdain for safety and appeared to regard safety-conscious workers as wimps in the organization." As a verb, disdain carries an air of self-righteousness not associated with similar words like despise, abhor, detest, loathe and scorn. So if you disdain something, you might reject it with a haughty scoff, "Ha!"
Vocabulary lists containing disdain
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The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 1
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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.
See Examples For:
College taught me to investigate the “great” composers who mattered and disdain those of no value.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
Another point in Europe’s favor is that international investors view the region much like Bessent does, with indifference if not disdain.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026
Taylor has never hidden her disdain for the circus of fight-week theatre, preferring the sanctuary of the gym.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
“There is a well documented and rather archaic disdain for my profession,” said Nils Busch-Petersen, head of the Berlin and Brandenburg retailers’ association.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
Jasper looked straight at him, rage suddenly flaming out over his disdain.
From "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin
With no action expected on rates on Wednesday, the attention will be on him: Will he submit a forecast for rate projections he disdains?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
The former Fox News personality, who served as an Army National Guard infantry officer in Iraq and Afghanistan, disdains rules of engagement and other guardrails as constraining to the “warrior ethos.”
From Salon ● Mar. 11, 2026
He’s done everything the old-fashioned way: He disdains analytics and uses them “as little as possible.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 24, 2022
“It amazes us so, because it serenely disdains to destroy us.”
From New York Times ● Apr. 24, 2022
Do you see how awful it is to be in love with someone who disdains you?
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
Rogoff and Reinhart disdained that finding as an “academic kerfuffle,” arguing that the errors had minimal effect on their own conclusions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
Air conditioning, long disdained in France, is "no longer taboo at all", Jehanno said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
Though rigid about his schedule, he disdained not only cleanliness and exercise but regular medical care.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
But the nearer Manzo was to the center of traditional politics, the more he disdained them.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026
My father disdained shopkeepers as unworthy and low, but he consorted with them and curried favor with the customers, hoping to overhear court gossip.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
Elon Musk, best known for disdaining fossil fuels and selling close to 10 million electric vehicles, is actively advocating natural-gas turbines for data centers and chip factories.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
But China remains hunkered down in its own nuclear bunker, disdaining U.S. invitations to discuss strategic stability.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 25, 2023
“I’m not incredibly interested in what he has to say about anything,” Rogen says, disdaining how little Gauthier considered the effects of his actions, especially on Anderson.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2022
Though “Vs.” is more of a reverse Kafka, with the witnesses disdaining the court’s authority.
From New York Times ● Aug. 1, 2021
He growled and muttered and then lay down on his side, his eyes closed, as if disdaining his tormentors.
From "Tiger, Tiger" by Lynne Reid Banks
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.
