disdainfully

American  

[dis-deyn-fuh-lee] / dɪsˈdeɪn fə li /

adverb

1. in a way that shows contempt or scorn.

   Once disdainfully regarded as mosquito-infested swamps, wetlands today are appreciated for providing critical wildlife habitat, assisting with water purification, and helping to store water during storms and floods.

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Etymology

Origin of disdainfully

disdainful ( def. ) + -ly

Explanation

When you do something disdainfully, you do it with disapproval or contempt. You might look disdainfully at an airplane passenger who's yelling at his young son. When you act disdainfully toward someone, you're expressing your lack of respect — either for the person himself, or what he's doing. If your grandmother disapproves of just about everyone she meets, she'll probably glance disdainfully at your friends when they show up in their loud car to pick you up. The Old French root of disdainfully is desdeignier, "scorn, refuse, or repudiate," from des, "do the opposite of," and deignier, "treat with respect."

Example Sentences

"Some of them are really awful," he says disdainfully of previous efforts.

From BBC • Mar. 23, 2024

Pink remains associated with femininity to this day—but in recent decades, groups once disdainfully branded with the color have made moves to reclaim it.

From National Geographic • Jul. 21, 2023

In drawings and in conversation, Crumb refers disdainfully to “the wokies,” even as he claims to be on their side.

From New York Times • Sep. 15, 2022

When I interviewed him a few years ago, he said disdainfully, “Life is too short to work with bands.”

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 20, 2021

“You are hardly the first student to covet the diadem,” she said disdainfully.

From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling

Related Words

• skeptically
• suspiciously