CONTEMPT Synonyms: 93 Similar and Opposite Words

contempt

noun

kən-ˈtem(p)t

Definition of contempt

as in disdain

open dislike for someone or something considered unworthy of one's concern or respect my undying contempt for people who abuse animals

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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.

Recent Examples of contempt Craven’s article is similarly one-way traffic on behalf of Rowling but done with a level of contempt toward trans people that almost swaggers in its certainty. — Literary Hub, 5 Oct. 2026 But that contempt doesn't reflect the every man (or every woman). — Matt Calkins Outkick, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2026 The contempt hearing Hoskins’ comments come in the wake of a chaotic redistricting battle that has dominated Missouri politics for the past year. — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 1 Oct. 2026 Femicide is defined as the killing of a woman in a domestic setting or out of contempt for women. — ABC News, 30 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for contempt

Recent Examples of Synonyms for contempt

Noun

For twenty years, McCarthy has been swimming against the current, writing novels that reflect, with unusual intensity, his disdain for the conventional underpinnings of literary fiction.

— Max Callimanopulos, New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2026
Evidence leading up to the assassination showed Robinson’s left-leaning political views and disdain toward Kirk.

— Mackenzie Chase, The Washington Examiner, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of disdain

Noun

The immigration of people from an entirely different world, people with hatred in their hearts, has shattered that once great country.

— Leonie Kidd, CNBC, 19 Oct. 2026
Underneath that façade was a sociopathic white supremacist neo-Nazi filled with hatred, fantasizing about mass murder nearly every day.

— Asal Rezaei, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of hatred

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“Contempt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contempt. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of contempt

noun

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