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Meaning of disdain in English:

disdain

Pronunciation /dɪsˈdeɪn/

See synonyms for disdain

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noun

mass noun

  • The feeling that someone or something is unworthy of one's consideration or respect.

    ‘her upper lip curled in disdain’
    • ‘an aristocratic disdain for manual labour’
    • ‘Certainly, she's arrogant and her disdain for them is palpable.’
    • ‘He spoke with such fondness of the tuna melt, that despite my disdain for tinned tuna, I felt compelled to try one.’
    • ‘Despite his disdain for much about the town at the time, the rector was optimistic about the future.’
    • ‘He is also very arrogant, showing disdain for those who are not as observant or skilled as he is.’
    • ‘The literary establishment's incoherent critique combines snobbish disdain for popular culture with an ahistorical philistinism.’
    • ‘Despite her disdain for the bad boys, they keep on pursuing her.’
    • ‘Despite my general disdain for the community at large, community service would be somewhat pointless without it.’
    • ‘Humans generally held him in high contempt, showing disdain for him in some places, utterly shunning him in others.’
    • ‘Despite his evident disdain for her, he still seemed uncomfortable arresting a woman who had been his friend and colleague for many years.’
    • ‘Despite her disdain for the class and it's students, Angelique had better luck than most of them.’
    • ‘Those who have it, use it, with condescension and casual disdain for those on the receiving end.’
    • ‘Scientists will have to step out of their laboratories and humanists will have to give up their haughty disdain for modernity.’
    • ‘In fact, its disdain for conventional musical genre - despite an obviously strong love of music - is what elevates it above the competition.’
    • ‘In an incredible display of arrogance and disdain for the fans, we had to search for our umbrellas among piles of them left in heaps on the floor.’
    • ‘His eyes blaze with contempt and disdain for you and your people.’
    • ‘In this case, I find it difficult to understand why there's so much hatred and disdain for this movie.’
    • ‘His contempt for ineptitude as well as his disdain for those who held opinions contrary to his was legendary.’
    • ‘Neither side bothered to hide disdain for the opposition.’
    • ‘Secondly, progressives should perhaps rethink their own disdain for service-based outreach programs.’
    • ‘My utter disdain for the zoologist is no secret; I think he is ridiculously overrated as an intellectual.’
    contempt, scorn, scornfulness, contemptuousness, derision, disrespect
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verb

[with object]

  • 1Consider to be unworthy of one's consideration.

    ‘he disdained his patients as an inferior rabble’
    • ‘Dismissed by the press, disdained by opponents, Cassius Clay kept on winning.’
    • ‘Aside from mushrooms, fungi are widely disdained by the agriculture industry.’
    • ‘Although accustomed to supporting others through their physical pain, Sam disdains emotional intimacy ‘because it hurts.’’
    • ‘He also disdains the disappearing-island theory, citing the contradiction of the building boom.’
    • ‘He disdains the definition ‘disabled,’ traveling six months a year to play, win and show everybody it can be done.’
    • ‘And I believe he puts a lot of weight on loyalty, and he disdains disloyalty.’
    • ‘He disdains public explanations, or conversations: he rarely gives press interviews and when he does, he doesn't say much.’
    • ‘Usually, it disdains the use of facades as a shell for a new building.’
    • ‘He ranks high among the great detectives of fiction but does so unobtrusively, disdaining self-advertisement.’
    • ‘He always disdained the idea of a ‘cradle competition’ between rich and poor, native and immigrant, white and black.’
    • ‘He disdained deep delta blues, calling it ‘negative’.’
    • ‘However, the change in tone of the Oscar ceremony disproportionately affects what the women will wear if ballroom gowns are disdained.’
    • ‘By 1980, major record companies disdained the music, preferring the slicker stylings of the new wave.’
    • ‘In a climate where the very idea of academic judgement is disdained, it is hardly surprising that some would cling to what appears to be a more precise and scientific approach.’
    • ‘Political parties are much disdained these days, often deservedly.’
    • ‘A long time ago, an editor left this paper and wrote a farewell column in which he disdained our readers and letter-writers.’
    • ‘Populism is very powerful where the populace is disdained by the elites.’
    • ‘They disdained make-up and shampoo but drove nice cars and lived in expensively decorated tree-houses.’
    • ‘Of the three countries to put the constitution to the popular vote, two have now disdained it.’
    • ‘Those who disdain wealth as crass materialism need to understand that wealth is one of the biggest life-saving factors in the world.’
    scorn, deride, pour scorn on, regard with contempt, show contempt for, be contemptuous about, sneer at, sniff at, curl one's lip at, pooh-pooh, look down on, belittle, undervalue, slight
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    1. 1.1Refuse to do (something) from feelings of pride or superiority.
      ‘she remained standing, pointedly disdaining his invitation to sit down’
      • ‘he disdained to discuss the matter further’
      • ‘Snape was sitting at the desk, but he disdained to even so much as lay a finger on the keypad.’
      • ‘He ‘distained to mingle in the intrigues of court life’ and found his chief occupation in the formation of his collection.’
      • ‘Perigryne felt his gaze upon her once again, but she disdained to move from her position.’
      • ‘She wanted him to stop, wanted to plead for her release, but she disdained to beg for him, and she doubted that it would influence his intent in the slightest.’
      spurn, reject, refuse, rebuff, disregard, ignore, snub
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Origin

Middle English from Old French desdeign (noun), desdeignier (verb), based on Latin dedignari, from de- (expressing reversal) + dignari ‘consider worthy’ (from dignus ‘worthy’).