Meaning & use
contemptible
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Meaning
adjectivecomparableformal
So dishonest, cruel or low that it deserves your scorn and disgust.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after be: a contemptible lie, his behavior was contemptible.
Patterns
- a contemptible act
- it is contemptible to do something
Stealing from a charity is a contemptible thing to do.
She called his refusal to help contemptible.
It was contemptible of them to blame an innocent colleague.
Word forms
| comparative | more contemptible |
|---|---|
| superlative | most contemptible |
Common combinations
- contemptible behavior
- The committee condemned his contemptible behavior.
- contemptible act
- Hitting someone who is down is a contemptible act.
- utterly contemptible
- The scheme was utterly contemptible.
- contemptible coward
- He was a contemptible coward who ran from his duty.
- morally contemptible
- Many found the remark morally contemptible.
Synonyms and how they differ
- despicable
- Despicable is the most common near-synonym and is a little more everyday, while contemptible sounds more formal and judgmental.
- shameful
- Shameful stresses that something should cause shame, not necessarily deep scorn.
- base
- Base is old-fashioned and literary, describing low moral character.
- loathsome
- Loathsome stresses strong physical or moral revulsion rather than scorn.
Opposites
Word family
- contempt noun
- strong scorn or lack of respect
- contemptibly adverb
- in a way that deserves scorn
- contemptuous adjective
- showing scorn toward someone
- contemptuously adverb
- in a scornful way
Commonly confused: contemptible or contemptuous?
contemptible vs contemptuous
Contemptuous describes someone who shows scorn; contemptible describes someone or something that deserves it.
Practice
The man who took credit for his assistant's work was widely seen as ____.
Choose one answer.
Contemptible means deserving scorn, which suits someone who steals credit. Contemptuous would mean he himself showed scorn for others.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “contemptible”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.