contemned

verb

past tense of contemn
as in disdained
to show contempt for arrogant critics who contemn the general public's taste in art

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for contemned
  1. disdained
  2. hated
  3. despised
  4. disrespected
Verb
  • Musk has long disdained the norms that the executives who run giant public companies typically embrace.
    — Bloomberg, Mercury News, 3 June 2026
  • At his behest Aurangzeb—who disdained poetry—sent agents across India and Persia to assemble a literary circle befitting her.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 Apr. 2026
Definition of disdained
Verb
  • One loved the script, and the other hated the script and didn't want to do it.
    — Jeff Spry, Space.com, 3 July 2026
  • The billionaires so hated by Democrats and certain Republicans have ways to escape this tax.
    — Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 26 June 2026
Definition of hated
Verb
  • The likely architect of that plot was Lyonel’s own scheming son, Larys, whom Simon openly despised.
    — Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 29 June 2026
  • Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee once put it this way about why some golfer tirades add character while others are despised.
    — Brody Miller, New York Times, 19 June 2026
Definition of despised
Verb
  • Kenzie completely rejects Corbin’s because Corbin, having disrespected her, is now dead to her.
    — Kathleen Walsh, Vulture, 30 June 2026
  • Many feel disrespected by the social safety net.
    — Aisha Nyandoro, Forbes.com, 19 June 2026
Definition of disrespected
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

contemn
contemned
contemning
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Contemned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contemned. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All