contemptuous

UK/kənˈtɛm(p).tʃu.əs/US/kənˈtɛmp.t͡ʃu.əs/

adjectiveC2Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #12,453 of 15,258neutral

Contemptuous means showing that you think something is worthless. Not disagreement — dismissal.

It takes of. The word describes manner as much as opinion, so a contemptuous laugh, a contemptuous glance and a contemptuous refusal all communicate without argument. It is hotter than disdainful, which is cool and superior, and both are stronger than dismissive. The noun is contempt, and contempt of court is a specific offence with real consequences.

Definitions of contemptuous

1adjectivecontemptuousShowing that you consider somebody or something worthless.C2
“He was openly contemptuous of the whole proposal.”

Where it comes from

Latin
contemptus
English, today
contemptuous

From Latin contemptus (whence contempt) ous.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in A Man Called Ove

First appears in chapter 8 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word

contemptuous in the wild

The term is contemptuous, essentially describing someone seen to be uncouth and rural.
Teuchter
Two different kinds of pity can be distinguished, "benevolent pity" and "contemptuous pity".
Pity
Similar to the real-life model, Martha Logan becomes contemptuous of her husband's conduct in office and decides to go public and end his career.
Martha Logan
The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as a "contemptuous designation for a self-assertive worthless fellow" and cites the earliest documented use from the year 1840.
Jackeen
Given in the end of the book are notes humorously contemptuous of the text, Crowley sarcastically portraying a pious clergyman before praying to be freed of such "sin".
Clouds without Water

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

From Project Gutenberg, public domain. These sentences are from real books, shown to illustrate the word at work.

Related words

the contemptus family

contempt

contemptuous — used about once every 13,896 pages · #12,453 · point at the bar for the others

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