disdain

1 of 2

noun

dis·​dain dis-ˈdān How to pronounce disdain (audio)
: a feeling of contempt for someone or something regarded as unworthy or inferior : scorn

disdain

2 of 2

verb

dis·​dain dis-ˈdān How to pronounce disdain (audio)
disdained; disdaining; disdains

transitive verb

1
: to look on with scorn
disdained him as a coward
2
: to refuse or abstain from because of a feeling of contempt or scorn
disdained to answer their questions
3
: to treat as beneath one's notice or dignity
Choose the Right Synonym for disdain

despise, contemn, scorn, disdain mean to regard as unworthy of one's notice or consideration.

despise may suggest an emotional response ranging from strong dislike to loathing.

despises cowards

contemn implies a vehement condemnation of a person or thing as low, vile, feeble, or ignominious.

contemns the image of women promoted by advertisers

scorn implies a ready or indignant contempt.

scorns the very thought of retirement

disdain implies an arrogant or supercilious aversion to what is regarded as unworthy.

disdained popular music

Examples of disdain in a Sentence

Noun McCarthy's indifference to accolades and his disdain for grandstanding … turned into a disdain even for being understood. Louis Menand, New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2004
There is fierce disdain within the Pentagon for the passive U.N. peacekeepers who stood by while thousands were murdered in Bosnia's ethnic cleansing. Joe Klein, Time, 24 Nov. 2003
But for all its playful love of puns and cool disdain for "suits," the high-tech world is, at heart, a cruel, unforgiving place ruled by the merciless dynamics of the marketplace. Michiko Kakutani, New York Times, 27 June 2002
He regarded their proposal with disdain. I have a healthy disdain for companies that mistreat their workers. Verb The right eyes him [Thomas Jefferson] suspiciously as a limousine Jacobin so enamored of revolution that he once suggested we should have one every 20 years. The left disdains him as your basic race hypocrite. Charles Krauthammer, Time, 22 May 2000
Only in our last days on the peninsula (the arm of Antarctica that polar scientists disdain as the "Banana Belt") did we see our first frozen sea … Kate Ford, Wall Street Journal, 12 June 1998
His vehicle would be a form he both enjoyed and disdained—pulp fiction. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., New York Times Book Review, 20 Sept. 1992
There is also evidence of epic womanizing that Mr. Schickel mentions but loftily announces that he disdains to tell us about. Camille Paglia, New York Times Book Review, 21 July 1991
They disdained him for being weak. She disdained to answer their questions.
Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Noun
Suffering under the weight of her mother’s disdain, Tita takes refuge in the kitchen alongside Nacha, who becomes a surrogate mom to her. Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 3 Nov. 2024 This kind of disdain can make even conservatives who are on the fence for Trump vote for him anyway. Nicole Russell, USA TODAY, 31 Oct. 2024
Verb
Good free-market neoliberals had historically disdained this idea, believing government attempts to meddle in the economy would have bad results. Andrew Prokop, Vox, 15 Oct. 2024 The Bitcoin white paper, which was released in October, 2008, and the Bitcoin code, which followed shortly thereafter, have at times been disdained as clever bits of engineering pastiche. Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for disdain 

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English desdeyne, from Anglo-French desdaign, from desdeigner — see disdain entry 2

Verb

Middle English desdeynen, from Anglo-French desdeigner, dedeigner, from Vulgar Latin *disdignare, from Latin dis- + dignare to deign — more at deign

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of disdain was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near disdain

Cite this Entry

“Disdain.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disdain. Accessed 17 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

disdain

1 of 2 noun
dis·​dain dis-ˈdān How to pronounce disdain (audio)
: a feeling of scorn for something or someone regarded as beneath oneself

disdain

2 of 2 verb
1
: to look with scorn on
disdained us for being afraid
2
: to reject or refuse because of disdain
disdained to answer

More from Merriam-Webster on disdain

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