disdain

English

WOTD – 19 January 2010

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old French desdeignier (modern French dédaigner).

Pronunciation

• enPR: dĭs-dān', IPA^(key): /dɪsˈdeɪn/
• Rhymes: -eɪn

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

disdain (uncountable)

1. (uncountable) A feeling of contempt or scorn.

   The cat viewed the cheap supermarket catfood with disdain and stalked away.

   • 2018 June 24, Sam Wallace, "Harry Kane scores hat-trick as England hit Panama for six to secure World Cup knock-out qualification," Telegraph (UK) (retrieved 24 June 2018):

     Everything that could go right for England did although they never felt lucky and they chuckled at Kane’s third that ricocheted off his heel while he was looking the other way. Somewhere in the Moscow outskirts one could only guess at the grand disdain Cristiano Ronaldo will have felt at being supplanted as the tournament’s top scorer in that manner.

   • (Can we date this quote?), William Shakespeare, Much ado about Nothing

     Disdain and scorn ride sparkling in her eyes.

2. (obsolete) That which is worthy to be disdained or regarded with contempt and aversion.
   • (Can we date this quote by Spenser and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     Most loathsome, filthy, foul, and full of vile disdain.

3. (obsolete) The state of being despised; shame.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)

Synonyms

• abomination
• condescension
• contempt
• despisal
• scorn
• See also Thesaurus:contempt

Antonyms

• adoration
• admiration
• honor
• respect
• reverence

Derived terms

• disdainable
• disdainful

Translations

feeling of contempt or scorn

• Arabic: اِزْدِرَاء m (izdirāʔ)
• Armenian: արհամարհանք (hy) (arhamarhankʻ), քամահրանք (hy) (kʻamahrankʻ), գոռոզություն (hy) (goṙozutʻyun)
• Belarusian: пага́рда f (pahárda)
• Bulgarian: презрение (bg) n (prezrenie), пренебрежение (bg) n (prenebreženie)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 鄙棄／鄙弃 (zh) (bǐqì), 不屑 (zh) (bùxiè), 蔑視／蔑视 (zh) (mièshì), 蔑视 (zh) (mièshì)

• Czech: pohrdání n, opovržení (cs) n, despekt m
• Danish: despekt, foragt (da)
• Dutch: ongenoegen (nl), verachting (nl) f
• Finnish: halveksunta (fi) (contempt), väheksyntä (fi) (belittling)
• French: dédain (fr) m, mépris (fr) m
• German: Verachtung (de) f, Geringschätzung f (disrespect), Missachtung (de) f (contempt)
• Hebrew: בוז (buz)
• Hungarian: megvetés (hu)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: sdegno (it) m, disdegno (it) m, disprezzo (it) m
• Japanese: 唾棄 (ja) (daki), 軽蔑 (ja) (keibetsu), 軽侮 (ja) (keibu), 侮蔑 (ja) (bubetsu)
• Korean: 경멸 (ko) (gyeongmyeol)
• Latin: despectio
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: forakt (no) m

  Nynorsk: forakt f

• Polish: pogarda (pl) f
• Portuguese: desdém (pt) m, desprezo (pt) m
• Romanian: desconsiderare (ro) f, dispreț (ro) n
• Russian: презре́ние (ru) n (prezrénije), пренебреже́ние (ru) n (prenebrežénije)
• Scottish Gaelic: tàire f, dìmeas f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: презир m, пријезир m

  Roman: prezir (sh) m, prijezir m

• Spanish: desdén (es) m, desprecio (es) m
• Swedish: förakt (sv)
• Ukrainian: прозрі́ння n (prozrínnja), прези́рство (uk) n (prezýrstvo)

Verb

disdain (third-person singular simple present disdains, present participle disdaining, simple past and past participle disdained)

1. (transitive) To regard (someone or something) with strong contempt.
   • Bible, 1 Sam. xvii. 42

     When the Philistine […] saw David, he disdained him; for he was but a youth.

   • 1880, Edward Henry Palmer (translator), The Qur'an, 1880, "Women", verse 170

     The Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, is but the apostle of God and His Word, […] The Messiah doth surely not disdain to be a servant of God, nor do the angels who are nigh to Him; and whosoever disdains His service and is too proud, He will gather them altogether to Himself. But as for those who believe and do what is right, He will pay their hire and will give increase to them of His grace. But as for those who disdain and are too proud, He will punish them with a grievous woe, and they shall not find for them other than God a patron or a help.

   • 2012 November 7, Matt Bai, “Winning a Second Term, Obama Will Confront Familiar Headwinds”, in New York Times‎^[1]:

     The country’s first black president, and its first president to reach adulthood after the Vietnam War and Watergate, Mr. Obama seemed like a digital-age leader who could at last dislodge the stalemate between those who clung to the government of the Great Society, on the one hand, and those who disdained the very idea of government, on the other.

2. (intransitive, obsolete) To be indignant or offended.
   • 1526, William Tyndale (translator), Bible, Matthew XXI:

     When the chefe prestes and scribes sawe, the marveylles that he dyd [...], they desdayned, and sayde unto hym: hearest thou what these saye?

Synonyms

• abominate
• contemn
• See also Thesaurus:despise

Antonyms

• adore
• admire
• honor
• respect
• revere

Translations

to regard with strong contempt

• Arabic:

  Egyptian Arabic: احتقر (iḥtaʾar)

• Armenian: արհամարհել (hy) (arhamarhel), քամահրել (hy) (kʻamahrel)
• Bulgarian: презирам (bg) (preziram)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 鄙棄／鄙弃 (zh) (bǐqì), 不屑 (zh) (bùxiè), 蔑視／蔑视 (zh) (mièshì), 蔑视 (zh) (mièshì), 輕蔑／轻蔑 (zh) (qīngmiè), 轻蔑 (zh) (qīngmiè)

• Dutch: minachten (nl), versmaden (nl)
• Finnish: halveksua (fi)
• French: dédaigner (fr), mépriser (fr)
• German: verachten (de), verschmähen (de)
• Hungarian: megvet (hu)
• Indonesian: ^{(please verify)} menghina? (id) , ^{(please verify)} menganggap rendah? , ^{(please verify)} merendahkan? (id) , ^{(please verify)} membenci? (id)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: sdegnare, sprezzare, spregiare (it)
• Japanese: 見下す (mikudasu), 蔑む (ja) (sagesumu), 唾棄する (ja) (daki suru), 軽蔑する (ja) (keibetsu suru), 軽侮する (ja) (keibu suru)
• Latin: despicio, dēdignor, aspernor
• Maori: whakatoa, whakatoatoa, tamatama, tokoreko, whakareko, whakakurīmōri, whakapuw(h)eto, whakamanumanu
• Norwegian: forakte, kimse av
• Polish: gardzić (pl)
• Portuguese: desdenhar (pt), desprezar (pt)
• Russian: презира́ть (ru) impf (prezirátʹ), презре́ть (ru) pf (prezrétʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: tàire f
• Spanish: desdeñar (es), despreciar (es)
• Swedish: förakta (sv)

Anagrams

• naidids