1
as in disdainful
feeling or showing open dislike for someone or something regarded as undeserving of respect or concern
loutish tourists who are contemptuous of the ways and traditions of their host countries
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2
as in slighting
intended to make a person or thing seem of little importance or value
contemptuous comments about the baseball team's pathetic showings
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Examples of contemptuous in a Sentence
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Recent Examples on the Web
America’s two major political parties have a contemptuous view of their voters.
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Noah Rothman, National Review, 27 Sep. 2024
Trump performance was 'pessimistic, cynical, contemptuous' Luntz set the scene by pointing out that there are very few undecided voters left and those in the battleground states hold the most impact, amounting to about 1% of the American people.
—Kinsey Crowley, USA TODAY, 12 Sep. 2024
The prisoners the United States let go were contemptuous individuals, either drug dealers, spies, sanctions violators or, in the case of Krasikov, stone-cold murderers.
—Daniel Depetris, The Mercury News, 9 Aug. 2024
Still, some onlookers felt conflicted, even contemptuous.
—Constance Grady, Vox, 1 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for contemptuous 
Noah Rothman, National Review, 27 Sep. 2024
Trump performance was 'pessimistic, cynical, contemptuous' Luntz set the scene by pointing out that there are very few undecided voters left and those in the battleground states hold the most impact, amounting to about 1% of the American people.
—Kinsey Crowley, USA TODAY, 12 Sep. 2024
The prisoners the United States let go were contemptuous individuals, either drug dealers, spies, sanctions violators or, in the case of Krasikov, stone-cold murderers.
—Daniel Depetris, The Mercury News, 9 Aug. 2024
Still, some onlookers felt conflicted, even contemptuous.
—Constance Grady, Vox, 1 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for contemptuous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contemptuous
Adjective
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Greer’s disdainful, stuck-up lines ooze out of Kidman’s mouth.Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 25 Sep. 2024
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As for the United States’ messianic mission, Trump is disdainful of the activist brand of democracy promotion embraced under American Exceptionalism 2.0.Charles A. Kupchan, Foreign Affairs, 13 Feb. 2018
Adjective
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Yet feeling out of place has, ironically, brought Escola even closer to their Mary Todd Lincoln, whose fear that a scornful world might keep her offstage gives the show an unexpected pathos.Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 2 Aug. 2024
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The president has outlined a deeply misguided foreign policy vision that is distrustful of U.S. allies, scornful of international institutions, and indifferent, if not downright hostile, to the liberal international order that the United States has sustained for nearly eight decades.Eliot A. Cohen, Foreign Affairs, 11 Dec. 2018
Adjective
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No matter, the response was swift and harsh from the often insulting and foul-mouthed Trump and other Republicans.Dominic Patten, Deadline, 30 Oct. 2024
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Why reach for the insulting explanation when a rational one will do?Bret Stephens, The Mercury News, 24 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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Manji will appear as Crispin, an arrogant, pompous employee at a fancy, high-end hardware store who snubs George.Katie Campione, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2024
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My 21-year-old grandson is a dramatic and arrogant know-it-all.Jeanne Phillips, The Mercury News, 26 Sep. 2024
Adjective
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While there have been no major reports of any malicious cyberactivity affecting election offices, foreign actors have been active in using fake social media profiles and websites to drum up partisan vitriol and disinformation.Chris Morris, Fortune, 5 Nov. 2024
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Clicking the links could add malicious software to your device and allow the scammer to track your online activity.Ana Rocío Álvarez Bríñez, The Indianapolis Star, 3 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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The alternative is a future too abhorrent for even the most dystopian imaginations at WIRED to contemplate.Katie Drummond, WIRED, 4 Nov. 2024
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No matter how obscure the source or abhorrent the story, incendiary headlines, rigged algorithms and planted comments are standard.Lauren Coulman, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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Prior to appearing on Cunningham's show on Monday, Huggins made more disparaging remarks about Xavier.Emily DeLetter, The Enquirer, 10 May 2023
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Will Smith was given the Golden Raspberry Awards’ lone non-disparaging prize, with Smith earning the Redeemer Award after landing an actual Oscar nod for his role in King RIchard; Nicolas Cage and Jamie Dornan were also considered for the quasi-honor.Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 26 Mar. 2022
Adjective
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This soaring exploration of generational trauma starts with Star, a survivor of the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre, who’s forced to speak English and practice Christianity by the man who goes on to found the notoriously cruel Carlisle Indian Industrial School.Lizz Schumer, People.com, 5 Nov. 2024
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Calcutta and appeared as Tony Moss, the cruel, toupeed director of the topless dance revue at the Stardust Casino, in Paul Verhoeven’s Showgirls (1995).Mike Barnes, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Nov. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near contemptuous
Cite this Entry
“Contemptuous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contemptuous. Accessed 17 Nov. 2024.
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