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Contemptuous: meaning, example and synonyms

Contemptuousadj. Showing scorn or disdain for someone or something regarded as worthless.

Flashcard for Contemptuous (adjective): showing scorn or disdain for someone or something regarded as worthless. Example: The critic's contemptuous review dismissed the novel as sentimental filler, yet readers embraced its portrait of rural life and kept it in print for decades. Synonyms: scornful, disdainful, derisive, sneering. Antonyms: respectful, admiring, reverent, deferential. Memory tip: Contemptuous = full of CONTEMPT: looking down on others. Illustration: a well-dressed man at a dinner table raising his nose and sneering down at a simple homemade pie that a young cook proudly presents, no words drawn.

Example

The critic's contemptuous review dismissed the novel as sentimental filler, yet readers embraced its portrait of rural life and kept it in print for decades.

Part of speech
adjective
Synonyms
scornful, disdainful, derisive, sneering
Antonyms
respectful, admiring, reverent, deferential
Memory tip
Contemptuous = full of CONTEMPT: looking down on others.

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Check yourself: Contemptuous in context

Pick the word that best completes each text.

Question 1

The aristocrat's ______ remarks about the laborers who built his estate revealed how little he valued the people whose work sustained his comfort.

Question 2

Rather than engage with her opponent's argument, the debater gave a dismissive, ______ snort and rolled her eyes, as if the point were beneath consideration.

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