Contemptible vs. contemptuous: what's the difference?

The short answer

Contemptible and contemptuous look alike but describe different things. Contemptible means deserving scorn or disgust — it describes a person, act, or idea that is worthy of contempt. Contemptuous means showing or feeling scorn toward someone else. In short: something contemptible earns your contempt; someone contemptuous is expressing it. Not: His contemptible remarks about the waiter for His contemptuous remarks about the waiter, if you mean he acted with scorn rather than that his remarks deserved scorn.

Both words share a root — contempt, the feeling of viewing something as inferior — but they attach to different parts of a sentence. Contemptible modifies whatever is being judged: a decision, a comment, a habit. Contemptuous modifies whoever is doing the judging: a look, a laugh, a tone of voice. Keeping the roles straight prevents an easy but common mix-up.

• Contemptible = deserving scorn
• Contemptuous = showing scorn

What each word means

Contemptible is an adjective that describes something so low, dishonest, or cruel that it deserves to be despised. A contemptible act might be betraying a friend's trust or mocking someone who cannot defend themselves. The word judges the thing itself as worthless or shameful.

Contemptuous is an adjective that describes a person's attitude. Someone contemptuous looks down on others, often through a sneer, a dismissive tone, or cutting words. A manager who is contemptuous of new employees treats their questions as beneath notice, regardless of whether those questions deserve it.

Contemptible describes the act, not the attitude

Use contemptible when you are judging behavior or character as shameful. For example: Lying to the elderly couple about the repair costs was contemptible. Or: The critic called the film's crude humor contemptible. Not: The critic called the film's crude humor contemptuous, since the film cannot feel scorn — it can only deserve it.

Contemptible also works for describing conditions, not just actions: contemptible working conditions, a contemptible excuse, contemptible cowardice. In each case, the word signals that the thing named deserves to be looked down upon, regardless of who is doing the looking.

Contemptuous describes the person's expression of scorn

Use contemptuous when someone is showing disdain toward another person or thing. For example: She gave a contemptuous laugh when he mentioned his promotion. Or: The senator's contemptuous tone toward the reporters drew criticism during the hearing. Not: The senator's contemptible tone toward the reporters, unless you mean the tone itself was shameful rather than scornful.

A quick test

Ask who is doing the judging. If the sentence describes a quality that makes something worthy of scorn, use contemptible. If the sentence describes a person actively sneering, dismissing, or belittling someone, use contemptuous. Swapping the two often reverses who holds the power in the sentence: the judged versus the judge.

• Contemptible: worthy of scorn, a passive quality
• Contemptuous: showing scorn, an active attitude
• Test: can the subject feel an emotion? If yes, contemptuous fits

Remember it

Link the ending to the meaning: contemptuous ends like courageous or generous, words that describe a person's disposition. Contemptible ends like terrible or horrible, words that judge a thing. If you can replace the word with despicable, contemptible is correct; if you can replace it with scornful, contemptuous is correct.