contemptible
/kənˈtɛmptəbəl/
contemptible adjective: deserving contempt.
Adjective
contemptible (comparative more contemptible, superlative most contemptible)
- Deserving contempt.
- But a Devil came in juſt in the God-ſpeed, and told them; Gentlemen Philoſophers, (ſays he) if you vvould knovv the VVretched'ſt, and moſt contemptible thing in the VVorld; It is an Alchymiſt: […]1667, Francisco de Quevedo Villegas, “The Sixth Vision of Hell”, in R[oger] L[’Estrange], transl., The Visions of Dom Francisco de Quevedo Villegas, […], London: […] H[enry] Herringman […], →OCLC...
- Miss Ward's match, indeed, when it came to the point, was not contemptible: Sir Thomas being happily able to give his friend an income in the living of Mansfield […]1814 May 9, [Jane Austen], chapter I, in Mansfield Park: […], volume I, London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, page 2
- Synonyms:
- despicable, disdainable, hateworthy, abject, filthy, base, beggarly, blameworthy, carrion, cheap
- Antonyms:
- respectable, venerable
- Carrying or having contempt; contemptuous.
- One of the above petitioners had frequently praised Edward in the presence of Robert; but it was evidently disliked by the latter, and always drew from him some contemptible remark reflecting on the humility of his origin.1846, The Cooper's Son
- But what a contemptible notion must he entertain of this House!1874, John Campbell, Lives of the Lord Chancellors and Keepers of the Great Seal of England, volume 5
contemptible meaning in Hindi, Urdu, Malayalam and Punjabi
contemptible in Hindi
- Contemptible, abject; poor, distressed, abandoned, friendless, wretched
- ख़्वार xvār
contemptible in Urdu
- contemptible
- چھوچھا chūchā
contemptible in Malayalam
- വെറുക്കത്തക്ക, നിന്ദ്യമായ, നികൃഷ്ടമായ, നീചമായ
contemptible in Punjabi
- contemptible, light, empty, vain, worthless, contemptible
- ਤੁੱਛ tuccha
More languagesFewer languages
- contemptible in Persian
- خوار xâr
Synonyms of contemptible
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Antonyms
Forms of contemptible
| comparative | more contemptible |
|---|---|
| superlative | most contemptible |
| alternative form (nonstandard, archaic) | contemptable |
Origin of contemptible
From Middle English contemptible, from Latin contemptibilis. By surface analysis, contempt + -ible.
Words formed from contemptible
Questions about contemptible
- What does contemptible mean?
- Contemptible means deserving contempt.
- What is contemptible in Hindi?
- Contemptible in Hindi is ख़्वार (xvār). See Contemptible meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is contemptible?
- Contemptible is an adjective.
- How do you pronounce contemptible?
- Contemptible is pronounced /kənˈtɛmptəbəl/.
Words near contemptible in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: contemptible (page history and authors); ख़्वार (Hindi) (page history and authors); چھوچھا (Urdu) (page history and authors); contemptible (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ਤੁੱਛ (Punjabi) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “contemptible.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/contemptible. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.