contempt

English

Alternative forms

• cōtempt, cõtempt (obsolete)

Etymology

From Latin contemptus (“scorn”), from contemnō (“I scorn, despise”), from com- + temnō (“I despise”). Displaced native Old English forsewennes.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kənˈtɛmpt/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛmpt

Noun

contempt (countable and uncountable, plural contempts)

1. (uncountable) The state or act of contemning; the feeling or attitude of regarding someone or something as inferior, base, or worthless; scorn, disdain.
   • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XIII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

     And Vickers launched forth into a tirade very different from his platform utterances. He spoke with extreme contempt of the dense stupidity exhibited on all occasions by the working classes. He said that if you wanted to do anything for them, you must rule them, not pamper them.

   • 2023 March 8, Howard Johnston, “Was Marples the real railway wrecker?”, in RAIL, number 978, page 53:

     Transport Minister Marples, meanwhile, used arrogant rhetoric and showed his personal contempt for railways when confirming in Parliament that a third of the network was to be closed even before the survey results were known.

2. The state of being despised or dishonored; disgrace.
3. (law) Open disrespect or willful disobedience of the authority of a court of law or legislative body.
   • 2021 October 19, Luke Broadwater, “House Panel Recommends Contempt Charge Against Bannon”, in The New York Times‎^[1], →ISSN:

     The panel voted unanimously on Tuesday to recommend charging Mr. [Stephen K.] Bannon with criminal contempt of Congress for defying its subpoena, sending the issue to the House.

   • 2024 April 28, Maggie Haberman, Jonah E. Bromwich, “Trump’s Trial Could Bring a Rarity: Consequences for His Words”, in The New York Times‎^[2], →ISSN:

     Justice Merchan has yet to issue a ruling on whether to find Mr. Trump in contempt.

4. (chess, uncountable) Ellipsis of contempt factor.

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:contempt

Antonyms

• See Thesaurus:contempt

Derived terms

Terms derived from contempt (noun)

• beneath contempt
• contemptible
• contemptive
• contempt of Congress
• contempt of cop
• contempt of court
• contempt of Parliament
• contempt trap
• contemptuous
• familiarity breeds contempt
• hold in contempt
• in contempt
• self-contempt

 

Related terms

• contemn
• contemnor

 

Translations

a feeling or attitude

• Arabic: اِحْتِقَار m (iḥtiqār), اِزْدِرَاء m (izdirāʔ)
• Belarusian: пага́рда f (pahárda)
• Bulgarian: презре́ние (bg) n (prezrénie), пренебреже́ние (bg) n (prenebrežénie)
• Catalan: menyspreu (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 鄙夷 (zh) (bǐyí), 鄙薄 (zh) (bǐbó), 鄙視／鄙视 (zh) (bǐshì), 輕視／轻视 (zh) (qīngshì)

• Czech: opovržení (cs) n, despekt m, pohrdání n, přezírání n
• Danish: foragt (da) c
• Dutch: verachting (nl) f, minachting (nl) f
• Finnish: halveksunta (fi), halveksinta (fi), ylenkatse
• French: mépris (fr) m
• Galician: desprezo (gl) m
• German: Verachtung (de) f
• Greek: περιφρόνηση (el) f (perifrónisi), καταφρόνηση (el) f (katafrónisi)

  Ancient: καταφρόνημα n (kataphrónēma), ὑπεροψία f (huperopsía)

• Hebrew: בּוּז (he) m (buz)
• Hungarian: megvetés (hu)
• Icelandic: fyrirlitning (is) f
• Irish: dímheas m, tarcaisne f
• Italian: disprezzo (it) m
• Japanese: 軽蔑 (ja) (keibetsu), 軽侮 (ja) (keibu), 侮蔑 (ja) (bubetsu)
• Korean: 경멸 (ko) (gyeongmyeol)
• Latin: contemptus m, dēspectiō f, fastus m
• Macedonian: презир m (prezir)
• Malayalam: പുച്‌ഛം (puc‌chaṁ)
• Old English: forsewennes f
• Persian: تحقیر (fa) (tahqir)
• Plautdietsch: Ve'achtunk f
• Polish: pogarda (pl) f, lekceważenie (pl) n
• Portuguese: desprezo (pt) m, desdém (pt) m, contempto m
• Romanian: dispreț (ro) n
• Russian: презре́ние (ru) n (prezrénije), пренебреже́ние (ru) n (prenebrežénije)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Roman: nadmenost (sh) f, nadutost (sh) f, prezrivost (sh) f, prezir (sh) m

• Spanish: desprecio (es) m, desdén (es) m
• Swedish: missnöje (sv) n, misshag (sv), förakt (sv) n, avsmak (sv) c
• Turkish: küçümsemek (tr)
• Ukrainian: прези́рство (uk) (prezýrstvo), не́хтування (néxtuvannja)
• Volapük: nestüm (vo)
• Yiddish: פֿאַראַכטונג f (farakhtung)

a state of being despised or dishonored

• Czech: opovržení (cs) n, ponížení n
• Danish: vanære c
• Finnish: kunniattomuus
• German: Schande (de) f, Blamage (de) f
• Greek: περιφρόνηση (el) f (perifrónisi)
• Hungarian: megvetettség
• Icelandic: óvirðing (is) f
• Japanese: 軽蔑 (ja) (keibetsu)
• Maori: whakahariharitaetanga, whakapu(w)hetotanga, tokorekotanga
• Polish: pogarda (pl) f, lekceważenie (pl) n
• Russian: позо́р (ru) m (pozór), бесче́стие (ru) n (besčéstije)
• Spanish: desgracia (es) f, deshonra (es) f, vergüenza (es) f
• Swedish: missaktning (sv) c
• Turkish: hor görülmek

law: open disrespect or willful disobedience of the authority

• Bulgarian: неуважение (bg) n (neuvaženie)
• Danish: foragt (da) c, foragt for retten, (disrespect of a court of law)
• Dutch: minachting (nl) f
• Esperanto: kontumaco
• Finnish: oikeuden halventaminen (open disrespect of a court of law)
• French: outrage (fr) m
• German: Mißachtung (de) f, Beamtenbeleidigung (de)
• Greek: περιφρόνηση (el) f (perifrónisi)
• Hungarian: figyelmen kívül hagyás, semmibevétel (hu), semmibevevés (hu)
• Icelandic: óvirðing (is) f
• Maori: takahi ture
• Persian: اهانت (fa) (ehânat), بی‌حرمتی (bi-hormati)
• Polish: lekceważenie (pl) n, obraza (pl) f
• Portuguese: desacato (pt) m
• Russian: неуваже́ние (ru) n (neuvažénije)
• Spanish: desacato (es) m
• Tagalog: pagsuway, paglapastangan, desakato
• Ukrainian: знева́га (zneváha)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Ido: ^{(please verify)} des-estimo

Further reading

• “contempt”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “contempt”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “contempt”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.