contempt

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“
"Now, Philip;" said Stephen, "I think you will act better in not minding him, as your contempt will be the best punishment you can inflict upon him.

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Definitions (14)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. noun The feeling or attitude of regarding someone or something as inferior, base, or worthless; scorn.
  2. noun The state of being despised or dishonored; disgrace.
  3. noun Open disrespect or willful disobedience of the authority of a court of law or legislative body.

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Examples (50)

  • Final Rupture.—Terrible Scene.—Madame de Maintenon in the Brocaded Chair To-day, when time and reflection, and, perhaps, that fund of contempt which is so useful, have finally revealed to me the insurmountable necessities of life, I can look with a certain amount of composure at the; injury which the King did me. —  The Entire Memoirs of Madame de Montespan
  • But what earns them my contempt is their manic obsession with portraying the Republican Party as Public Enemy #1. backwoods conservative on September 4, 2008 at —  Hot Air » Top Picks
  • He smiled in self-contempt, then uttered a sharp sigh, pressed his palm to his forehead, and produced a tiny silver box, from which he took a tablet More antipyrene?" —  Sacrifice
  • I offered to fill his pitcher again, having knocked it down by accident--I will be revenged My dear friend," said Stephen, "I think you will act better in not minding him, as your contempt will be the best punishment you can inflict upon him. —  Ami des enfants. English
  • "Now, Philip;" said Stephen, "I think you will act better in not minding him, as your contempt will be the best punishment you can inflict upon him. —  McGuffey's Fourth Eclectic Reader
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

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Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English, from Latin contemptus, past participle of contemnere, to despise; see contemn.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from Middle English contempt, from Old French contempt, from Latin contemptus, scorn, from contemnere, past participle contemptus, scorn, despise: see contemn.
 

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/kənˈtɛmpt/
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