Word.ws English Dictionary

contemptive

UK/kənˈtɛmp.tɪv/

contemptive adjective: of or pertaining to, or creating a word form denoting the negative attitude of the speaker.

Adjective

contemptive (comparative more contemptive, superlative most contemptive)

  1. Of or pertaining to, or creating a word form denoting the negative attitude of the speaker.
    • One of the most striking features of the vocabulary of Nishnaabemwin is the frequency that contemptive endings appear on basic (LEXICAL) noun forms, in other words, on noun stems that never occur without the contemptive suffix and which do not have salient contemptive force.2001, J. Randolph Valentine, Nishnaabemwin Reference Grammar
  2. (rare) Contemptuous.
    • A contemptive epithet applied to any place. “Sich a smuce!” a teetotaler would say in relating his experience of a gin-shop.1862, “The” Dialect of Leeds and Its Neighbourhood
    • This he tries to compensate through various means. The show of vulgar power, rude behaviour, a generally contemptive attitude are but a few of them.1984, D. N. Gautam, What is wrong with Indian police?, page 225

Noun

contemptive (plural contemptives)

  1. A word form expressing the negative attitude of the speaker.

Antonyms of contemptive

Forms of contemptive

Adjective
comparativemore contemptive
superlativemost contemptive
Noun
pluralcontemptives

Origin of contemptive

From contempt + -ive.

Questions about contemptive

What does contemptive mean?
Contemptive means of or pertaining to, or creating a word form denoting the negative attitude of the speaker.
What part of speech is contemptive?
Contemptive can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce contemptive?
Contemptive is pronounced /kənˈtɛmp.tɪv/ (UK).

Words near contemptive in the dictionary

  1. contemptibility
  2. contemptible
  3. contemptibleness
  4. contemptibly
  5. contemption
  6. contemptive
  7. contemptives
  8. contempts
  9. contempts of court
  10. contemptuosities
  11. contemptuosity

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: contemptive (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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