contemn en · VERB
Pronunciation
Etymology
From Middle English contempnen, from Old French contemner, from Latin contemnō (“to scorn”). See also contempt.
Meanings
-
(dated, transitive) To disdain; to value at little or nothing; to treat or regard with contempt.
The subject of the following History [...] is the unhappy Lives, and untimely Deaths, of that Unfortunate English King Edward the Second, and his two Favourites Gaveston and Spencer; for his immoderate love to whom, (Says Dr. Heylin) he was hated by the Nobles, and contemned by the Commons.
c. 1620s, Elizabeth Cary [misattributed to Henry Cary], “The Preface”, in The History Of the most unfortunate Prince King Edward II. […] , London: A.G. and F. P., published 1680, page A3, verso: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.
1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XXI, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 171: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.
1919, W. Somerset Maugham, “11”, in The Moon and Sixpence:
- To commit an offence of contempt, such as contempt of court; to unlawfully flout (e.g. a ruling).
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| contemned | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| contemned | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| contemning | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| contemns | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic |
Antonyms
honor · respect · revere · venerate
Deriveds
contemningly · uncontemned · contemnible
Relateds
contemption · contemptuous · contemptibility · contemnor · contempt · contemptible · contemner · contemptibly
Synonyms
Translations (37)
hu lenéz (to treat or regard with contempt) · ca desdenyar (to treat or regard with contempt) · mi whakapu(w)heto (to treat or regard with contempt) · bg презирам (to treat or regard with contempt) · hy արհամարհել (to treat or regard with contempt) · ca menyspreuar (to treat or regard with contempt) · it disdegnare (to treat or regard with contempt) · ro a disprețui (to treat or regard with contempt) · tr hor görmek (to treat or regard with contempt) · mi whakamanioro (to treat or regard with contempt) · hu megvet (to treat or regard with contempt) · ja 蔑む (to treat or regard with contempt) · es menospreciar (to treat or regard with contempt) · it disprezzare (to treat or regard with contempt) · ru презира́ть (to treat or regard with contempt) · ja 軽侮する (to treat or regard with contempt) · fi halveksua (to treat or regard with contempt) · cmn 鄙夷 (to treat or regard with contempt) · ru пренебрега́ть (to treat or regard with contempt) · mi tokoreko (to treat or regard with contempt) · ru попира́ть (to treat or regard with contempt) · fr contemner (to treat or regard with contempt) · ja 見下す (to treat or regard with contempt) · fr mépriser (to treat or regard with contempt) · ja 軽蔑する (to treat or regard with contempt) · cmn 鄙薄 (to treat or regard with contempt) · sv förakta (to treat or regard with contempt) · mi whakareko (to treat or regard with contempt) · he בז (to treat or regard with contempt) · bg пренебрегвам (to treat or regard with contempt) · pt desdenhar (to treat or regard with contempt) · hu ócsárol (to treat or regard with contempt) · es despreciar (to treat or regard with contempt) · de verachten (to treat or regard with contempt) · fi halveksia (to treat or regard with contempt) · tr küçümsemek (to treat or regard with contempt) · pt desprezar (to treat or regard with contempt)