contemptuous
English edit
Etymology edit
Learned borrowing from Latin contemptus (whence contempt) + -ous.[1]
Pronunciation edit
- (UK) IPA(key): /kənˈtɛm(p).tʃu.əs/, /kənˈtɛm(p).tʃəs/, /kənˈtɛm(p).tju.əs/
Audio (Southern England) (file)
- (US) IPA(key): /kənˈtɛmp.t͡ʃu.əs/
Adjective edit
contemptuous (comparative more contemptuous, superlative most contemptuous)
- Showing contempt; expressing disdain; showing a lack of respect.
- I don't know that guy, but he just gave me a contemptuous look.
- 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “The Challenge”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 234:
- Sir George burst into a loud fit of contemptuous laughter.
- 1922, Ben Travers, chapter 5, in A Cuckoo in the Nest:
- The most rapid and most seductive transition in all human nature is that which attends the palliation of a ravenous appetite. […] Can those harmless but refined fellow-diners be the selfish cads whose gluttony and personal appearance so raised your contemptuous wrath on your arrival?
Synonyms edit
Antonyms edit
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Translations edit
showing contempt
|
References edit
- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “contemptuous”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.