1
as in disdainful
feeling or showing open dislike for someone or something regarded as undeserving of respect or concern
loutish tourists who are contemptuous of the ways and traditions of their host countries
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2
as in slighting
intended to make a person or thing seem of little importance or value
contemptuous comments about the baseball team's pathetic showings
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Recent Examples of contemptuous
America’s two major political parties have a contemptuous view of their voters.
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Noah Rothman, National Review, 27 Sep. 2024
Trump performance was 'pessimistic, cynical, contemptuous' Luntz set the scene by pointing out that there are very few undecided voters left and those in the battleground states hold the most impact, amounting to about 1% of the American people.
—Kinsey Crowley, USA TODAY, 12 Sep. 2024
The prisoners the United States let go were contemptuous individuals, either drug dealers, spies, sanctions violators or, in the case of Krasikov, stone-cold murderers.
—Daniel Depetris, The Mercury News, 9 Aug. 2024
Still, some onlookers felt conflicted, even contemptuous.
—Constance Grady, Vox, 1 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for contemptuous 
Noah Rothman, National Review, 27 Sep. 2024
Trump performance was 'pessimistic, cynical, contemptuous' Luntz set the scene by pointing out that there are very few undecided voters left and those in the battleground states hold the most impact, amounting to about 1% of the American people.
—Kinsey Crowley, USA TODAY, 12 Sep. 2024
The prisoners the United States let go were contemptuous individuals, either drug dealers, spies, sanctions violators or, in the case of Krasikov, stone-cold murderers.
—Daniel Depetris, The Mercury News, 9 Aug. 2024
Still, some onlookers felt conflicted, even contemptuous.
—Constance Grady, Vox, 1 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for contemptuous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contemptuous
Adjective
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Sure, this is all meaningful information to most Star Wars fans, who know the Sith as the primary anti-Jedi order, disdainful of the Jedi rules about how and why to use the Force.Noel Murray, Vulture, 26 June 2024
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Greer’s disdainful, stuck-up lines ooze out of Kidman’s mouth.Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 25 Sep. 2024
Adjective
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Yet feeling out of place has, ironically, brought Escola even closer to their Mary Todd Lincoln, whose fear that a scornful world might keep her offstage gives the show an unexpected pathos.Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 2 Aug. 2024
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The president has outlined a deeply misguided foreign policy vision that is distrustful of U.S. allies, scornful of international institutions, and indifferent, if not downright hostile, to the liberal international order that the United States has sustained for nearly eight decades.Eliot A. Cohen, Foreign Affairs, 11 Dec. 2018
Adjective
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Joe Biden denounced offensive jokes that podcast host Tony Hinchcliffe made about Puerto Rico during Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally over the weekend, but the president also made a comment some prominent Republicans quickly called insulting to the former president's supporters.Karissa Waddick, USA TODAY, 30 Oct. 2024
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No matter, the response was swift and harsh from the often insulting and foul-mouthed Trump and other Republicans.Dominic Patten, Deadline, 30 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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Manji will appear as Crispin, an arrogant, pompous employee at a fancy, high-end hardware store who snubs George.Katie Campione, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2024
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My 21-year-old grandson is a dramatic and arrogant know-it-all.Jeanne Phillips, The Mercury News, 26 Sep. 2024
Adjective
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Apple has since revoked the notarization for the malicious program.Michael Kan, PCMAG, 7 Nov. 2024
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Between the lines: Many cybersecurity tools scan endpoints for signs of malicious intruders trying to get in.Sam Sabin, Axios, 29 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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The alternative is a future too abhorrent for even the most dystopian imaginations at WIRED to contemplate.Katie Drummond, WIRED, 4 Nov. 2024
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No matter how obscure the source or abhorrent the story, incendiary headlines, rigged algorithms and planted comments are standard.Lauren Coulman, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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Prior to appearing on Cunningham's show on Monday, Huggins made more disparaging remarks about Xavier.Emily DeLetter, The Enquirer, 10 May 2023
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Will Smith was given the Golden Raspberry Awards’ lone non-disparaging prize, with Smith earning the Redeemer Award after landing an actual Oscar nod for his role in King RIchard; Nicolas Cage and Jamie Dornan were also considered for the quasi-honor.Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 26 Mar. 2022
Adjective
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This soaring exploration of generational trauma starts with Star, a survivor of the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre, who’s forced to speak English and practice Christianity by the man who goes on to found the notoriously cruel Carlisle Indian Industrial School.Lizz Schumer, People.com, 5 Nov. 2024
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But at times, there’s a defensive, slightly cruel streak to his patter that can eclipse his better angels (of which there are many) and test the goodwill of those around him.Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near contemptuous
Cite this Entry
“Contemptuous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contemptuous. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.
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