condescending
[ kon-duh-sen-ding ]
/ ˌkɒn dəˈsɛn dɪŋ /
Save This Word!
adjective
showing or implying a usually patronizing descent from dignity or superiority: They resented the older neighbors' condescending cordiality.
OTHER WORDS FOR condescending
QUIZ
ALL IN FAVO(U)R OF THIS BRITISH VS. AMERICAN ENGLISH QUIZ
There's an ocean of difference between the way people speak English in the US vs. the UK. Are your language skills up to the task of telling the difference? Let's find out!
Question 1 of 7
True or false? British English and American English are only different when it comes to slang words.
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, adverbCollins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012