Contempt — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike

a manner that is generally disrespectful and contemptuous

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/kɹˈeɪzinəs/

🇬🇧British English

/kəntˈɛmpt/

🇮🇳Indian English

/kəntˈɛmpt/

2 syllables Say it as /kɹˈeɪzinəs/.

Examples

he was held in contempt
the despite in which outsiders were held is legendary

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

disdain despite scorn disrespect

Parts of Speech

noun	lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike “he was held in contempt”
noun	a manner that is generally disrespectful and contemptuous
noun	open disrespect for a person or thing
noun	a willful disobedience to or disrespect for the authority of a court or legislative body

Word Forms

contemptuous	adjective	expressing extreme contempt
disdain	verb	look down on with disdain
scorn	verb	look down on with disdain
disrespect	verb	have little or no respect for; hold in contempt

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Verachtung

Mangel an Respekt, begleitet von einem Gefühl intensiver Abneigung

🇫🇷French

mépris

manque de respect accompagné d'un sentiment d'aversion intense

🇪🇸Spanish

desprecio

Falta de respeto acompañada de un sentimiento de intenso disgusto.

🇮🇹Italian

disprezzo

mancanza di rispetto accompagnata da un sentimento di intensa antipatia

🇳🇱Dutch

minachting

gebrek aan respect dat gepaard gaat met een gevoel van intense afkeer

🇵🇹Portuguese

desprezo

falta de respeito acompanhada por um sentimento de intensa antipatia

🇷🇺Russian

презрение

отсутствие уважения, сопровождающееся чувством сильной неприязни

India

🇮🇳Hindi

अवमानना

तीव्र नापसंदगी की भावना के साथ सम्मान की कमी

🇧🇩Bengali

অবজ্ঞা

সম্মানের অভাব তীব্র অপছন্দের অনুভূতি দ্বারা অনুষঙ্গী

🇮🇳Tamil

அவமதிப்பு

மரியாதை இல்லாமை தீவிர வெறுப்பு உணர்வுடன் சேர்ந்து

🇮🇳Telugu

ధిక్కారం

తీవ్రమైన అయిష్ట భావనతో కూడిన గౌరవం లేకపోవడం

🇮🇳Marathi

तिरस्कार

आदराचा अभाव, तीव्र नापसंतीची भावना

🇮🇳Gujarati

તિરસ્કાર

આદરનો અભાવ તીવ્ર અણગમાની લાગણી સાથે

🇮🇳Kannada

ತಿರಸ್ಕಾರ

ಗೌರವದ ಕೊರತೆಯು ತೀವ್ರವಾದ ಇಷ್ಟವಿಲ್ಲದ ಭಾವನೆಯೊಂದಿಗೆ ಇರುತ್ತದೆ

🇮🇳Malayalam

നിന്ദ

തീവ്രമായ ഇഷ്ടക്കേടിൻ്റെ വികാരത്തോടൊപ്പമുള്ള ബഹുമാനക്കുറവ്

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਅਪਮਾਨ

ਤੀਬਰ ਨਾਪਸੰਦ ਦੀ ਭਾਵਨਾ ਦੇ ਨਾਲ ਸਤਿਕਾਰ ਦੀ ਘਾਟ

🇵🇰Urdu

توہین

شدید ناپسندیدگی کے احساس کے ساتھ احترام کی کمی

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

鄙视

缺乏尊重并伴有强烈的厌恶感

🇯🇵Japanese

軽蔑する

激しい嫌悪感を伴う敬意の欠如

🇰🇷Korean

경멸

강렬한 혐오감을 동반한 존경심 부족

🇻🇳Vietnamese

khinh miệt

thiếu tôn trọng kèm theo cảm giác không thích mãnh liệt

🇹🇭Thai

ดูถูก

ขาดความเคารพพร้อมกับความรู้สึกไม่ชอบอย่างแรง

🇮🇩Indonesian

penghinaan

kurangnya rasa hormat disertai dengan perasaan tidak suka yang intens

🇵🇭Filipino

paghamak

kawalan ng paggalang na sinamahan ng isang pakiramdam ng matinding hindi gusto

🇲🇾Malay

penghinaan

kurang rasa hormat disertai dengan perasaan tidak suka yang amat sangat

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

ازدراء

قلة الاحترام مصحوبة بشعور شديد بالكراهية

🇮🇷Persian

تحقیر

عدم احترام همراه با احساس بیزاری شدید

🇹🇷Turkish

küçümseme

Yoğun bir hoşnutsuzluk duygusunun eşlik ettiği saygı eksikliği

🇮🇱Hebrew

בּוּז

חוסר כבוד מלווה בתחושת סלידה עזה

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'contempt'?

The primary meaning of 'contempt' is 'lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'contempt' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'contempt' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'contempt' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'contempt' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'contempt' in your daily reading?

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Do you find 'contempt' easy to spell?

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In your opinion, does the word 'contempt' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

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Neutral

Gloomy

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Which age group is most likely to use 'contempt' in regular conversations?

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How likely are you to use 'contempt' in a professional email?

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Would you classify 'contempt' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

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