How to Use despise in a Sentence

despise

verb
  • She was despised as a hypocrite.
  • I despise anchovies on pizza, and I refuse to eat them!
  • Look no further than the videos to see that those crowds despise him.
    — Travis M. Andrews, Alaska Dispatch News, 29 June 2017
  • My father would have despised that.
    — Jp Mangalindan, Time, 5 Dec. 2025
  • The three subjects despise the film and want nothing to do with it.
    — Ben Sales, sun-sentinel.com, 3 Nov. 2020
  • The event that most male gymnasts despise is his calling card.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 20 June 2021
  • He was liked by some players, for sure, but despised by others.
    — Mike Freeman, USA TODAY, 11 Jan. 2024
  • This alone was enough to ensure they were despised by others.
    — Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2025
  • Many of them love their country but despise what the regime has turned it into.
    — Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 30 June 2025
  • And today’s high 10-year yield means bonds are despised right now.
    — Brett Owens, Forbes, 8 Jan. 2025
  • Many people fear them, attack them, or despise them.
    — Anna Tunkova, CNN Money, 15 Aug. 2025
  • Meanwhile, the smug parishioners despise the poor folks around their fine church.
    — Celia Storey, Arkansas Online, 24 May 2021
  • The two men now despise one another.
    — Kansas City Star, 16 Sep. 2025
  • No mention from him of the reasons why Aussies might despise him.
    — Charlie Eccleshare, The Athletic, 17 Jan. 2025
  • The only problem is that her two best friends despise each other.
    — Amy Poeppel, People.com, 11 June 2025
  • Gardeners and foresters often go so far as to despise them.
    — Rosa Lyster, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
  • This is nothing to cheer about, even for those who despise the crypto sector.
    — Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 2 Nov. 2022
  • But for now, the Force is with those who despise overwhelming crowds.
    — Scott Craven, azcentral, 3 July 2019
  • Revered in Tehran, he was despised throughout much of the region.
    — Time, 3 Jan. 2020
  • Those outside an hour’s drive to Fayetteville despised him for it.
    — Eric Bolin, ajc, 23 Nov. 2017
  • Whether those programs despise Harbaugh or not isn't the point.
    — Nick Baumgardner, Detroit Free Press, 2 May 2018
  • Even when a wide swath of the NFL fan base despises this guy?
    — Peter King, SI.com, 27 Sep. 2017
  • But far less talked about today are the women who arguably had the most reason to despise her.
    — Daisy Dunn, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 July 2024
  • The man abhors them the same way the Longhorns despise the Sooners.
    — Nick Moyle, ExpressNews.com, 11 Apr. 2020
  • The same things that make many people love Ernaux make many others despise her.
    — Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker, 14 Nov. 2022
  • Centrists despised the deep cuts to programs for the poor and elderly.
    — Philip Elliott, Time, 1 July 2025
  • Both brothers despise their father, for good reason.
    — Karl Ove Knausgaard, New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2025
  • Some people just despise winter.
    — Olivia Young, Travel + Leisure, 13 Jan. 2026
  • For the millions who revered him and returned him to office three more times, there were millions who despised him.
    — Meg Jacobs, Foreign Affairs, 8 Dec. 2020
  • Many still despise the president.
    — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 18 Jan. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'despise.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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