contemptnoun [ U ]
uk/kənˈtempt/us/kənˈtempt/contempt noun [ U ] (NO RESPECT)
C2 a strong feeling of disliking and having no respect for someone or something:
At school she had complete contempt for all her teachers.
You should treat those remarks with the contempt that they deserve.
She's beneath contempt (= I have no respect for her)!
hold sb/sth in contempt
to feel contempt for someone or something
More examples
- She looked at him with undisguised contempt.
- He rewarded their kindness with hostility and contempt.
- Both Shelley and Byron had a passionate contempt for cant and hypocrisy.
- The boy shows utter contempt for authority and is virtually uncontrollable.
- In their senseless killing of innocent people, the terrorists display total contempt for human life.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Feelings of dislike and hatred
- abhorrence
- abomination
- anathema
- animosity
- animus
- disdain
- disfavour
- disgust
- dislike
- distaste
- hatred
- ill will
- loathing
- misandry
- misanthrope
- repulsion
- revulsion
- sore point
- technophobe
- vitriol
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Not liking
contempt noun [ U ] (NOT OBEYING)
specialized also contempt of court law behaviour that is illegal because it does not obey or respect the rules of a law court:
The tobacco companies may be guilty of contempt of court for refusing to produce the documents.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Obeying & breaking the law
- abide
- adhere
- afoul
- bend the law/rules idiom
- breach
- break
- breaker
- clean
- clean up your act idiom
- commit
- compliant
- conform
- contravene
- disobey
- hold
- observe
- perpetrate
- respect
- venal
- violate
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