contempt

[kuh n-tempt]

noun

the feeling with which a person regards anything considered mean, vile, or worthless; disdain; scorn.
the state of being despised; dishonor; disgrace.
Law.
1. willful disobedience to or open disrespect for the rules or orders of a court (contempt of court) or legislative body.
2. an act showing such disrespect.

Origin of contempt

1350–1400; Middle English (< Anglo-French) < Latin contemptus a slighting, equivalent to contemn(ere) to despise, scorn (see contemn) + -tus suffix of verb action (with loss of n and intrusive p)

Related formsself-con·tempt, noun

Synonym study

1. contempt , disdain , scorn imply strong feelings of disapproval and aversion toward what seems base, mean, or worthless. contempt is disapproval tinged with disgust: to feel contempt for a weakling . disdain is a feeling that a person or thing is beneath one's dignity and unworthy of one's notice, respect, or concern: a disdain for crooked dealing . scorn denotes open or undisguised contempt often combined with derision: He showed only scorn for those who were not as ambitious as himself.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for self-contempt

Contemporary Examples of self-contempt

Redford still admired him, saying he was “isolated from the world, free of self-contempt, managing an inn at the edge of nowhere.”
10 Revelations About Robert Redford
The Daily Beast
May 8, 2011

Historical Examples of self-contempt

Kirkwood groaned with despair of his inability to fathom the abyss of his self-contempt.
The Black Bag
Louis Joseph Vance
To him the winter passed in a maze of doubt and self-contempt.
The Incomplete Amorist
E. Nesbit
Not without some self-contempt, he asked himself what had become of his resolution.
Tales And Novels, Volume 9 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth
In earning the contempt of others he had not saved himself from self-contempt.
The Manxman
Hall Caine
It was a knowledge that was to sear her presently with self-loathing and self-contempt.
The Historical Nights Entertainment, Second Series
Rafael Sabatini

British Dictionary definitions for self-contempt

contempt

noun

the attitude or feeling of a person towards a person or thing that he considers worthless or despicable; scorn
the state of being scorned; disgrace (esp in the phrase hold in contempt)
wilful disregard of or disrespect for the authority of a court of law or legislative bodycontempt of court

Word Origin for contempt

C14: from Latin contemptus a despising, from contemnere to contemn

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

Word Origin and History for self-contempt

contempt

late 14c., from Latin contemptus "scorn," from past participle of contemnere "to scorn, despise," from com-, intensive prefix (see com-), + *temnere "to slight, scorn," of uncertain origin. Phrase contempt of court is attested from 19c., though the idea is several centuries older.

Idioms and Phrases with self-contempt

contempt

see familiarity breeds contempt.