disdain
Americanverb (used with object)
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disdains,
present (3rd person singular)
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disdained,
past participle, past
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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
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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:
"There's a sort of disdain for things AI."
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
Only much later in life did Steinem, who wrote a biography about Monroe, realize her initial disdain wasn’t the actress’ fault.
From Salon ● Jul. 6, 2026
Anna keeps prefacing her remarks with the words “no offense,” but Pete can’t help being offended by her pointed disdain.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026
Previously White has voiced his disdain at hosting events outdoors because of the "unpredictability" of the weather, while earlier this month he earmarked thunderstorms as the only threat to the show.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
The intimidating figure stared down at me with disdain, as if I were less than a piece of lint on his coat.
From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson
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
Sandra Angelloz is another producer who disdains Reblochon's "garnish" status.
From Salon ● Dec. 13, 2022
Plot synopses of “Carmen” traditionally depicted a young man reduced to despair and driven to violence by the charms of a wild woman who works in a cigarette factory and disdains conventional morality.
From New York Times ● Nov. 9, 2022
She makes fun of things she disdains, uplifts that which she reveres and even points out her own shortcomings, as comics are wont to do.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 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
Air conditioning, long disdained in France, is "no longer taboo at all", Jehanno said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
In a December 1904 message to Congress, Roosevelt disdained any “unmanly” inclination to a “peace of tyrannous terror, the peace of craven weakness, the peace of injustice.”
From Salon ● Dec. 27, 2025
Thomas Jefferson disdained the “artificial aristocracy” that marked governments before our own.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 17, 2025
A spokesman pointed me to an interview in which AWS CEO Matt Garman disdained the idea of replacing entry-level staff with AI bots, calling it “one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2025
Jule hadn’t seen Immie face to face with anyone she disdained until now.
From "Genuine Fraud" by E. Lockhart
How does a young woman go from disdaining weapons to designing them?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 2025
Nxe3 Bf6!, again disdaining the rook on h4 to keep the attack humming.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 19, 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
He was a true icon, prowling the world in search of glamour and beauty, disdaining “dreckitude.”
From New York Times ● Jan. 22, 2022
Beyond its battered frame the black-barked trees grew straight to the heavens, disdaining the forest floor, where tangled heather and brush hid the path leading from this lonely spot.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
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.
