supercilious

[ soo-per-sil-ee-uhs ]

adjective

1. haughtily disdainful or contemptuous, as a person or a facial expression.

   Synonyms: scornful, arrogant

   Antonyms: humble

supercilious

/ ˌsuːpəˈsɪlɪəs /

adjective

1. displaying arrogant pride, scorn, or indifference

Derived Forms

• ˌsuperˈciliousness, noun
• ˌsuperˈciliously, adverb

Other Words From

• super·cili·ous·ly adverb
• super·cili·ous·ness noun
• unsu·per·cili·ous adjective
• unsu·per·cili·ous·ly adverb
• unsu·per·cili·ous·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of supercilious¹

First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin superciliōsus; supercilium, -ous

Word History and Origins

Origin of supercilious¹

C16: from Latin superciliōsus, from supercilium eyebrow; see superciliary

Example Sentences

Too often, it's just our supercilious attitude to this thing called relief.

From The Daily Beast

To point that out, of course, will only strengthen her sense of being persecuted by supercilious elites.

From The Daily Beast

Gore comes off as a supercilious grandstander who gets swatted away dismissively by the brilliant Bill Clinton.

From The Daily Beast

He always kept within certain carefully laid bounds of supercilious politeness.

From Project Gutenberg

She glanced uneasily at Gwynne and fancied she could hear him slam the lid of his breeding upon a supercilious sputter.

From Project Gutenberg

The instant lift of Florimond's eyebrows was full of insolent, supercilious disdain.

From Project Gutenberg

Would it not have been possible to live in retirement without drawing upon himself the accusation of supercilious hauteur?

From Project Gutenberg

English notions of what is becoming don't hold good here; you can't stop a man like Wilkinson with a supercilious look.

From Project Gutenberg