condescending 1 of 2

condescending

2 of 2

verb

present participle of condescend
1
as in stooping
to descend to a level that is beneath one's dignity I will not condescend to answer the sore loser's charge that I cheated in order to win the race

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2
as in cutting
to assume or treat with an air of superiority wealthy people who tend to be condescending toward their poor relations

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Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of condescending
Adjective
That problem is compounded by a sizable chunk of the French electorate’s view of him as highhanded, condescending and arrogant — a former investment banker, the product of elite schools, unversed in the problems of ordinary people. Lee Hockstader, Washington Post, 1 July 2024 The Post does readers a disservice by employing incredibly condescending stereotypes about the Mexican people. Washington Post, 14 June 2024 The Mommy Wars and the Child Care Cliff The mommy wars (which is a silly condescending name for a silly, condescending thing) are obviously nothing new. Zara Hanawalt, Parents, 4 Oct. 2023 In the new Netflix series Wrestlers, streaming now, the showrunners and performers behind the scrappy Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) lean into the condescending critique and willingly pull back the curtain on the reality behind one of society’s most surreal art forms. Sean Neumann, Peoplemag, 27 Sep. 2023 See all Example Sentences for condescending 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for condescending
Adjective
  • And in its attempt to leverage something that wasn’t entirely its to claim, at times the CNRP betrayed a view of the masses that was not only instrumentalist and patronizing but also almost feudal in its assumptions about the relationship between people and power.
    Stéphanie Giry, Foreign Affairs, 2 Sep. 2015
  • Being cut out of a Malick movie is nothing new, but even in a small role, Clooney is effective as a commanding officer who gives a patronizing speech near the end of The Thin Red Line after our main characters have gone through hell yet again.
    Will Leitch, Vulture, 29 Sep. 2024
Adjective
  • Julie Bowen and Christopher McDonald return as love interest Virginia Venit and arrogant rival Shooter McGavin, respectively, and the cast includes rookies like Bad Bunny, Travis Kelce and pro wrestler Maxwell Jacob Friedman.
    Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 17 Jan. 2025
  • Those include genial second-year resident Dr. King (Taylor Dearden), arrogant intern Santos (Isa Briones), and doe-eyed med students Javadi (Shabana Azeez) and Whittaker (Gerran Howell).
    Ryan Schwartz, TVLine, 9 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • The only thing left to contend with is her domineering mother, the formidable 90-year-old Lenore Simmons Krackenberry, who is obsessed with family lineage and Southern heritage.
    Matt Grobar, Deadline, 7 Jan. 2025
  • Smith is fantastic and terrifying as Mrs. Medlock in The Secret Garden, the stentorian nurse and housekeeper whose domineering overcautiousness feeds into all the self-pitying inclinations of her poor weakling charge Colin Craven.
    Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 27 Sep. 2024
Adjective
  • Now, the norms for AI will emerge in a political and cultural environment that's hostile to regulation and disdainful of limits.
    Scott Rosenberg, Axios, 8 Jan. 2025
  • By and large, though, in Lyman’s view, conservatives were the new gonzo journalists, the ones sending back authentic reports from high-drama situations, disdainful of institutions and politically correct messaging.
    Rachel Monroe, The New Yorker, 20 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • As for the dogs themselves, many had bossy personalities.
    Camille Bromley Gabra Zackman Krish Seenivasan David Mason, New York Times, 6 Jan. 2025
  • Venus in your bossy 10th house of reputation encourages you to opt for something elevated and mature, like a chic dinner at a rooftop restaurant or a black-tie event.
    Valerie Mesa, People.com, 30 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • Still, in many voters’ minds, the association between Democrats and supercilious scolding seems hard to shake.
    Andrew Marantz, The New Yorker, 14 Dec. 2024
  • Even Lu, most closed and supercilious of the bunch, has weird, troubled reservoirs of shame that gradually start to froth and bubble.
    Sara Holdren, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2024
Adjective
  • More specifically, the impudent Skull Kid steals the Ocarina of Time and turns Link into a Deku Scrub, those antagonistic tree cannons first introduced in Ocarina.
    Ashley Bardhan, Vulture, 27 Sep. 2024
  • In short, Moscow sees Montenegro as both strategically valuable and an impudent upstart that has thumbed its nose at the Russian bear while genuflecting before NATO and Washington.
    Edward P. Joseph, Foreign Affairs, 22 Dec. 2016
Adjective
  • During the 1950s, the Lions were dominant, winning three league titles prior to the Super Bowl era.
    Matthew Scogin, Forbes, 11 Jan. 2025
  • The letter drew direct parallels between Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and the rapid development of machinery, suggesting that machines could evolve consciousness and eventually supplant humans as Earth's dominant species.
    Ars Technica, Ars Technica, 11 Jan. 2025

Thesaurus Entries Near condescending

Cite this Entry

“Condescending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/condescending. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.

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