Contemptuous Meaning In Simple Words With Examples

Contemptuous meaning is showing or feeling contempt, which means looking down on someone or something as worthless, inferior or undeserving of respect. A contemptuous person is scornful, disrespectful and openly dismissive.

Have you ever seen someone roll their eyes, sneer or laugh at another person as if that person did not matter? That behaviour is described by the word contemptuous.

This article explains the contemptuous meaning in simple words, along with its meaning in Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, Malayalam and Punjabi. It also covers pronunciation, origin, synonyms, antonyms, common phrases, the difference between contemptuous and contemptible, 25 example sentences and FAQs.

Contemptuous At a Glance

Contemptuous Meaning In English

In English, contemptuous is an adjective that describes a person, look, tone or action that shows contempt. It means:

• Feeling that someone or something is beneath you
• Showing open scorn, mockery or disrespect
• Treating someone as unimportant or worthless

Dictionary-style definition: showing or expressing contempt or disdain.

Example: She gave him a contemptuous look and walked away.

Contemptuous Meaning In Simple Words

If the definition still feels heavy, think of it this way:

• Contemptuous = looking down on someone in a rude way.
• It is more than disliking someone. It is feeling that they are “too low” to deserve respect.
• You can see it in a sneer, an eye roll, a mocking laugh or a sarcastic tone.

Contemptuous Meaning In Hindi

Hindi meaning: तिरस्कारपूर्ण, हिकारत भरा, अपमानजनक, घृणा या अवहेलना दिखाने वाला

Hindi transliteration: Contemptuous = Tiraskarpurn / Hikarat bhara

Contemptuous Meaning In Hindi With Example

• English: He spoke to the waiter in a contemptuous tone.
• Hindi: उसने वेटर से तिरस्कारपूर्ण लहजे में बात की।
• English: She gave a contemptuous laugh at his idea.
• Hindi: उसने उसके विचार पर हिकारत भरी हँसी हँसी।
• English: The manager was contemptuous of new employees.
• Hindi: मैनेजर नए कर्मचारियों को हिकारत की नज़र से देखता था।

Contemptuous Meaning In Other Languages

Contemptuous Meaning In Marathi

कंटेम्प्चुअस म्हणजे तिरस्कारपूर्ण, इतरांना तुच्छ लेखणारा किंवा अपमानास्पद वागणारा.

Example: त्याने तिच्याकडे तिरस्कारपूर्ण नजरेने पाहिले. (He looked at her with a contemptuous glance.)

Contemptuous Meaning In Telugu

కంటెంప్చుయస్ అంటే ఇతరులను తక్కువగా చూస్తూ తిరస్కారభావంతో ప్రవర్తించే.

Example: అతను ఆమె వైపు తిరస్కారభావంతో చూశాడు. (He looked at her contemptuously.)

Contemptuous Meaning In Malayalam

കൺടെംപ്ചുവസ് എന്നാൽ മറ്റുള്ളവരെ അവജ്ഞയോടെയും പുച്ഛത്തോടെയും കാണുന്ന.

Example: അവൻ അവളെ പുച്ഛത്തോടെ നോക്കി. (He looked at her with contempt.)

Contemptuous Meaning In Punjabi

ਕੰਟੈਂਪਚੁਅਸ ਦਾ ਮਤਲਬ ਹੈ ਦੂਜਿਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਨੀਵਾਂ ਸਮਝ ਕੇ ਤ੍ਰਿਸਕਾਰ ਨਾਲ ਪੇਸ਼ ਆਉਣ ਵਾਲਾ।

Example: ਉਸਨੇ ਉਸ ਵੱਲ ਤ੍ਰਿਸਕਾਰ ਭਰੀ ਨਜ਼ਰ ਨਾਲ ਦੇਖਿਆ। (He looked at him with a contemptuous glance.)

Word Origin and Etymology

• Contemptuous comes from the Latin word contemptus, the past participle of contemnere, meaning “to despise” or “to look down on.”
• It passed into English through the noun contempt in the 14th century, and the adjective form followed.
• The core idea has stayed the same for centuries: treating someone as worthless.

Contemptuous Pronunciation

Break it into four easy parts:

• kuhn (like “kun” in “fun”)
• TEMP (stressed, like “temp”)
• choo
• us

Full pronunciation: kuhn-TEMP-choo-us

Contemptuous Meaning Synonyms

Here are common contemptuous meaning synonyms you can use in place of the word: