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condescending

[ kon-duh-sen-ding ]
/ ˌkɒn dəˈsɛn dɪŋ /
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adjective
showing or implying a usually patronizing descent from dignity or superiority: They resented the older neighbors' condescending cordiality.
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Origin of condescending

First recorded in 1630–40; condescend + -ing2

OTHER WORDS FROM condescending

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use condescending in a sentence

  • Under Mr. Bryant the Evening Post was an old-fashioned newspaper of uncondescending, uncompromising dignity.

    Recollections of a Varied Life|George Cary Eggleston

British Dictionary definitions for condescending

condescending
/ (ˌkɒndɪˈsɛndɪŋ) /

adjective
showing or implying condescension by stooping to the level of one's inferiors, esp in a patronizing way

Derived forms of condescending

condescendingly, adverb
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
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