contemn
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle English contempnen, from Old French contemner, from Latin contemnere (“to scorn”). See also contempt.
Pronunciation[edit]
Verb[edit]
contemn (third-person singular simple present contemns, present participle contemning, simple past and past participle contemned)
- (transitive, archaic) To disdain; to value at little or nothing; to treat or regard with contempt.
- 1834, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Francesca Carrara, volume 3, page 171:
- The change which had so suddenly elevated Charles Stuart to the throne of his ancestors, and, from a poor, wandering, and powerless exile, made him one of Europe's most powerful monarchs, had taken the various courts where he had sojourned, neglected, if not contemned, completely by surprise.
- 1919, W. Somerset Maugham, “11”, in The Moon and Sixpence:
- I was perturbed by the suspicion that the anguish of love contemned was alloyed in her broken heart with the pangs, sordid to my young mind, of wounded vanity.
- (law) To commit an offence of contempt, such as contempt of court; to unlawfully flout (e.g. a ruling).
Synonyms[edit]
- despise, scorn
- See also Thesaurus:despise
Antonyms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
to treat or regard with contempt
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