Dictionary

contemptuously en · ADV

Pronunciation

• /kənˈtɛmp.tʃu.əs.li/ (UK)
• /kənˈtɛmp.tju.əs.li/ (UK)
• /kənˈtɛmp.t͡ʃu.əs.li/ (US)
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree English contemptuous Middle English -ly English -ly English contemptuously From contemptuous + -ly.

Meanings

1. In a disrespectful or discourteous manner; condescendingly.
   • Ralph, who was a thickset clownish figure, arrived at his full strength, and conscious of the most complete personal superiority, laughed contemptuously at the threats of the slight-made stripling. 1820, [Walter Scott], chapter VII, in The Abbot. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne & Co.] for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; and for Archibald Constable and Company, and John Ballantyne, […], →OCLC, page 146:
   • He snapped his fingers contemptuously at the alarm clock. "I fear thee not, thou ticking tyrant." 1971, Richard Carpenter, Catweazle and the Magic Zodiac, Harmondsworth: Puffin Books, page 29:
   • Under the statute an individual who "publicly mutilates, tramples upon, defaces or treats contemptuously the flag of the United States[…]" was subject to criminal liability. 1986, Treatise on Constitutional Law: Substance and Procedure, volume 3, page 36:
   • The girl looked at Onisi contemptuously, then laughed jeeringly. He was then six years old and didn't know how to speak in English so he couldn't understand what she was saying but he sensed that it was derogatory. 1994, Joseph Veramo, Moving through the Streets: A Novel, page 39:
   • A eunuch is a negative creature. A beardless Moslem is contemptuously designated as manless. 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page iii:
   • He argued with the judge contemptuously, showing no respect or remorse for his actions.
   • 'They haven't no more philosophy nor political economy about 'em than that,' said the beadle, snapping his fingers contemptuously. 1867, Charles Dickens, chapter 4, in Oliver Twist:
   • Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump contemptuously brushed aside Schumer’s opposition to both appointments, and didn’t suffer for it politically. 2020 March 6, Garrett Epps, “Chuck Schumer Needs to Watch Himself”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 16 Mar 2020:

Forms

Relateds

contemptuous · contempt

Synonyms

disrespectfully (in a disrespectful manner) · condescendingly (in a disrespectful manner) · disdainfully (in a disrespectful manner)

Translations (11)

mk пре́зриво (in a disrespectful or discourteous manner) · fi halveksuvasti (in a disrespectful or discourteous manner) · ru презри́тельно (in a disrespectful or discourteous manner) · fi halveksien (in a disrespectful or discourteous manner) · mk пре́зирно (in a disrespectful or discourteous manner) · it sprezzantemente (in a disrespectful or discourteous manner) · hy արհամարհաբար (in a disrespectful or discourteous manner) · ru снисходи́тельно (in a disrespectful or discourteous manner) · la contemptim (in a disrespectful or discourteous manner) · it irrispettosamente (in a disrespectful or discourteous manner) · hy քամահրանքով (in a disrespectful or discourteous manner)