1
as in pitiful
arousing or deserving of one's loathing and disgust
even within the prison population, pedophiles are regarded as particularly despicable
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in vile
not following or in accordance with standards of honor and decency
the cad's despicable behavior toward women
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in pathetic
deserving pitying scorn (as for inadequacy)
a despicable attempt at making a movie comedy
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of despicable
JoAnn Lee Frank, Clearwater The bullying of Zelenskyy The bullying by President Trump and Vice President JD Vance against President Zelenskyy is despicable.
—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 7 Mar. 2025
The actor plays despicable almost too well, with greasy smiles and quick wit and anger.
—Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 17 Feb. 2025
Some segments of the Democratic coalition would find Piker to be edgy, or crass, or even despicable.
—Andrew Marantz, The New Yorker, 17 Mar. 2025
In an America where the masks of the rich and powerful have long been dropped, Posey pulls off a mysterious emotional striptease, revealing the many layers of Victoria — lazy, childlike, despicable, poignant, inimitable.
—Julia Whelan Emma Kehlbeck Joel Thibodeau, New York Times, 24 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for despicable
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 7 Mar. 2025
The actor plays despicable almost too well, with greasy smiles and quick wit and anger.
—Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 17 Feb. 2025
Some segments of the Democratic coalition would find Piker to be edgy, or crass, or even despicable.
—Andrew Marantz, The New Yorker, 17 Mar. 2025
In an America where the masks of the rich and powerful have long been dropped, Posey pulls off a mysterious emotional striptease, revealing the many layers of Victoria — lazy, childlike, despicable, poignant, inimitable.
—Julia Whelan Emma Kehlbeck Joel Thibodeau, New York Times, 24 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for despicable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for despicable
Adjective
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But the modern Democratic Party, rudderless and confused and reeling from a pitiful collective performance during Tuesday evening's presidential joint address to Congress, now confronts a fork in the road that's no joke.—
Newsweek,
Newsweek,
7 Mar. 2025
-
My performance was beyond pitiful today, and has been for a while now.—
Ryan Morik,
Fox News,
3 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Snow White gets a much more meaningful backstory The original Disney film begins with a few short sentences about how Snow White was forced to work as a scullery maid for her vile stepmother, the Queen.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA TODAY,
21 Mar. 2025
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Newsweek's efforts to politicize the death of these individuals, including the reporter's request to confirm names and locations of death, are vile.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
19 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Hechinger is the perfect choice for the role, bringing just the right of optimism and obliviousness to an endearingly pathetic dork who finds the opportunity to be heroic.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
2 Apr. 2025
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Successful long ago, Shelley is no longer a selling Machine of any sort, and mostly just begs for a break in comically desperate appeals that ping-pong from belligerent to pathetic.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
31 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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As holidays go, however, Flag Day can feel a bit lame.—
Kevin Fisher-Paulson,
San Francisco Chronicle,
8 June 2021
-
My 11-year-old loved watching the pups roll balls and play a giant floor piano, but for non-dog owners (guilty as charged), parts of the series—like dressing dogs in little hats and outfits for a Parisian fashion show—feel lame.—
Tim Neville,
Outside Online,
23 Nov. 2020
Adjective
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His other performances included as Robert De Niro’s nasty henchman in Michael Mann’s Heat (1995); as Marlon Brando’s insane assistant in John Frankenheimer’s The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996) and as the suave crook Simon Templar in Phillip Noyce’s The Saint (1997).—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
2 Apr. 2025
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The veteran forward took a nasty fall with 3:21 left in the fourth quarter, landed hard on his tailbone, and spent minutes down on the court surrounded by teammates and coaches.—
C.J. Holmes,
New York Daily News,
30 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Kwong grew up hearing stories of every kind about Manzanar—scary, sad, funny and infuriating.—
Rachel Ng,
Smithsonian Magazine,
27 Mar. 2025
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Yet, whatever the deal means for Paul, Weiss, its acquiescence to Trump marks a sad day for the legal profession—or what once was a profession, and is now just another business.—
Ruth Marcus,
New Yorker,
27 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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However, note that these are smaller models that could run on a less expensive GPUs or even a CPU with cheaper memory instead of the super expensive HBM memory currently used in all high-end accelerators.—
Karl Freund,
Forbes.com,
3 Apr. 2025
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In the early 1970s, the widespread availability of cheap, preformed fiberglass pools meant the rate of young children drowning soared.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
3 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Firms carrying out an immoral contract in court may face other discipline.—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Apr. 2025
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This legislation made its way through Congress back then in part because there was societal acceptance of the false belief that the Chinese were immutably immoral and threatening.—
Agustina Vergara Cid,
Oc Register,
30 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Despicable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/despicable. Accessed 13 Apr. 2025.
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