condescending 1 of 2

condescending

2 of 2

verb

present participle of condescend
1
as in stooping
to descend to a level that is beneath one's dignity I will not condescend to answer the sore loser's charge that I cheated in order to win the race

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2
as in cutting
to assume or treat with an air of superiority wealthy people who tend to be condescending toward their poor relations

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of condescending
Adjective
That loathsome, condescending, low-brow slur would apparently include the 74 million people who voted for Trump in 2020, a record only Biden himself has bettered on his way to being maybe the worst president ever. Jay Ambrose, Boston Herald, 23 Jan. 2024 Both projects share a similar eye for the grotesquerie of the banal, with a generally condescending perspective toward rural desperation. Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Dec. 2024 Yes, Emily goes on to flip her condescending date the bird before bombarding a top Parisian designer in his box—two decidedly un-Audrey gestures. Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 11 Sep. 2024 That problem is compounded by a sizable chunk of the French electorate’s view of him as highhanded, condescending and arrogant — a former investment banker, the product of elite schools, unversed in the problems of ordinary people. Lee Hockstader, Washington Post, 1 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for condescending 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for condescending
Adjective
  • The same is true of the inconsistent — and patronizing — use of translation.
    Samuel Ashworth, Washington Post, 24 July 2024
  • And in its attempt to leverage something that wasn’t entirely its to claim, at times the CNRP betrayed a view of the masses that was not only instrumentalist and patronizing but also almost feudal in its assumptions about the relationship between people and power.
    Stéphanie Giry, Foreign Affairs, 2 Sep. 2015
Adjective
  • Julie Bowen and Christopher McDonald return as love interest Virginia Venit and arrogant rival Shooter McGavin, respectively, and the cast includes rookies like Bad Bunny, Travis Kelce and pro wrestler Maxwell Jacob Friedman.
    Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 17 Jan. 2025
  • Those include genial second-year resident Dr. King (Taylor Dearden), arrogant intern Santos (Isa Briones), and doe-eyed med students Javadi (Shabana Azeez) and Whittaker (Gerran Howell).
    Ryan Schwartz, TVLine, 9 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • The only thing left to contend with is her domineering mother, the formidable 90-year-old Lenore Simmons Krackenberry, who is obsessed with family lineage and Southern heritage.
    Matt Grobar, Deadline, 7 Jan. 2025
  • Smith is fantastic and terrifying as Mrs. Medlock in The Secret Garden, the stentorian nurse and housekeeper whose domineering overcautiousness feeds into all the self-pitying inclinations of her poor weakling charge Colin Craven.
    Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 27 Sep. 2024
Adjective
  • President-Elect Donald Trump is openly disdainful of many governments in Europe and seems willing to walk away from America’s role as the continent’s protector.
    Phillips Payson O’Brien, The Atlantic, 13 Jan. 2025
  • Now, the norms for AI will emerge in a political and cultural environment that's hostile to regulation and disdainful of limits.
    Scott Rosenberg, Axios, 8 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • As the sun and Mercury ignite your bossy 10th house of reputation, ambition and reputation, you’re encouraged to push forward with your professional goals and show the world what you’re made of.
    Valerie Mesa, People.com, 19 Jan. 2025
  • As for the dogs themselves, many had bossy personalities.
    Camille Bromley Gabra Zackman Krish Seenivasan David Mason, New York Times, 6 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • Still, in many voters’ minds, the association between Democrats and supercilious scolding seems hard to shake.
    Andrew Marantz, The New Yorker, 14 Dec. 2024
  • Even Lu, most closed and supercilious of the bunch, has weird, troubled reservoirs of shame that gradually start to froth and bubble.
    Sara Holdren, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2024
Adjective
  • More specifically, the impudent Skull Kid steals the Ocarina of Time and turns Link into a Deku Scrub, those antagonistic tree cannons first introduced in Ocarina.
    Ashley Bardhan, Vulture, 27 Sep. 2024
  • In short, Moscow sees Montenegro as both strategically valuable and an impudent upstart that has thumbed its nose at the Russian bear while genuflecting before NATO and Washington.
    Edward P. Joseph, Foreign Affairs, 22 Dec. 2016
Adjective
  • Wright was witness to the power of the women's game first hand as during his playing career, his former club Arsenal were the dominant force on the pitch.
    Asif Burhan, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025
  • Rick Barnes’ defense looks almost as dominant as Auburn’s offense — third in points allowed per game, opponents absolutely last in 3-point percentage.
    Steven Louis Goldstein, The Athletic, 23 Jan. 2025

Thesaurus Entries Near condescending

Cite this Entry

“Condescending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/condescending. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.

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