Definition of contempt in English:

contempt

noun

mass noun

1The feeling that a person or a thing is worthless or beneath consideration.
‘Pam stared at the girl with total contempt’
‘it is no wonder journalists are held in such contempt’
- ‘Most Britons greeted this fraud with the scorn and contempt it deserves.’
- ‘Just another scenario where caring for someone close to me gets me nothing by contempt, scorn and hate in return.’
- ‘Later, I decided that I deserved his contempt, and I hated myself for what I had written.’
- ‘These twentieth century cannibals deserve the greatest scorn and contempt from all workers and humanitarians!’
- ‘The result of releasing these photographs would be, most likely, initial shock followed by disgust, contempt and repugnance.’
- ‘If we can also apply this kind of contempt and scorn to people who, say, kill police officers, we'll really get somewhere.’
- ‘In this day and age it is hard to believe that people can be held up to hatred, ridicule and contempt by a light-hearted gossip paragraph.’
- ‘This was a slap in the face to those rulers: a challenge, contempt and scorn for them, as if they are mere flies or dung beetles!’
- ‘Instead of tail-wagging gratitude, I was greeted with a look of utter contempt and scorn.’
- ‘They look upon it as a thing of contempt and scorn people who swear by virtual relationships.’
- ‘They're just wanting to exert their authority and treat Territorians with total contempt.’
- ‘Given this kind of attitude it is hardly surprising that increasingly local politics is held in total contempt.’
- ‘The woman looked at them with total contempt, as if they were something she would wipe off her shoe.’
- ‘I flinched as I heard her frosty voice tinged with bitter scorn and contempt.’
- ‘The first five were friends from school teasing him in fun or scorning him with contempt.’
- ‘Watch out for scorn, sarcasm, ridicule and contempt and inappropriate humour.’
- ‘But there are others who deserve not pity but contempt.’
- ‘Any company that treats its customers with such contempt deserves to go out of business, many said.’
- ‘But surely my discourse is not of such repulse that I am deserving of their contempt.’
scorn, disdain, disrespect, deprecation, disparagement, denigration, opprobrium, odium, obloquy, scornfulness
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1. 1.1Disregard for something that should be considered.
  ‘this action displays an arrogant contempt for the wishes of the majority’
  ‘It observes that the disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts that have outraged the conscience of mankind.’
  ‘Aquinas believed good law must be enforceable, otherwise it would be disregarded and risk causing contempt for all laws.’
  ‘Demands for respect while showing contempt for the religions and cultures of others has denied them any empathy for their perceived grievances.’
  ‘Their contempt for human life and disregard for the principle of non-combatant immunity stem not from despair and anger, but from nihilism.’
  ‘On the other hand the youth, like many others of his ilk these days, shows total disregard and contempt for authority of any kind.’
  ‘But his prickly sense of slighted dignity and obsessive contempt for other people's ethical squalor inevitably drags him down.’
  ‘If the Government refuses to introduce changes now, it will be demonstrating its contempt for democracy, public concern and animal welfare.’
  ‘This power, exercised politically for far too long, has added to the public's contempt for the honours that are now made.’
  ‘Really, how can the media deny that they have utter contempt for the public?’
  ‘In the bars he'd frequented as a cowboy hotshot, the elite stance involved a certain relaxed contempt for the flesh.’
  ‘What standard of measuring respect or contempt for human life should we use in making these judgments?’
  ‘This arrogance and contempt for public opinion must be curbed.’
  ‘How would he respond to the charge that his book expresses a certain contempt for the public?’
  ‘His contempt for the audience is only slightly less pronounced than his loathing of himself for being (in his own eyes) a phony and a sell-out.’
  ‘They have bad manners, contempt for authority and no respect for older people.’
  ‘These proposals seem to express an element of contempt for pet owners.’
  ‘We have reached a point where people feel contempt for the government but do not yet trust the opposition.’
  ‘Certainly they show a fanatic's contempt for the law.’
  ‘Well, I think his father had a certain contempt for the public relations factor in the presidency.’
  ‘The statement showed contempt for the public education system - its students, teachers and communities.’
  disrespect, disregard, slighting, neglect
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2. 1.2The offence of being disobedient to or disrespectful of a court of law and its officers.
  count noun ‘when he was found to have lied to the House this was a contempt’
  ‘Failure to do so would leave the health professional in contempt of court, an offence punishable by imprisonment.’
  ‘The relevant sanction is either being held in contempt of court or being prosecuted under the criminal law.’
  ‘Earlier this year Dr Smith was found in contempt of court by the High Court.’
  ‘The penalty for breach is punishment for contempt of court.’
  ‘That is neither a criminal offence nor a contempt of court.’
  ‘Three years ago, the Supreme Court said that legislation was needed to clarify the offence of contempt of court.’
  ‘Indeed, to do so would be a criminal offence - not defamation, but contempt of court, and you can go to jail for that.’
  ‘But never the less I was charged with contempt of court and drunken disorderly conduct and put in jail.’
  ‘At first instance the plaintiff did not seek to make out a case of an attempt to pervert the course of justice or of contempt of court.’
  ‘Yes, but the Supreme Court in its summary jurisdiction, which is a statutory jurisdiction, has no power to punish contempts of court.’
  ‘Of course, if the matter goes to trial, the witness can be compelled to attend to give evidence, and may be in contempt of court for failing to do so.’
  ‘I do not see how the Commonwealth could perform its part of the contract in that example without being in contempt of court.’
  ‘As between further violence and contempt of court, she may rationally choose the jail cell.’
  ‘A breach of an undertaking is contempt of court and punishable by committal to prison.’
  ‘Then the judge told Mr Beamish what was the maximum penalty for contempt of court.’
  ‘In all three cases the conclusion reached was that a deliberate intention to breach the order was not a necessary element for a finding of contempt of court.’
  ‘The charges stem from the attempted arrest for contempt of court.’
  ‘In my view, this observation should be the starting point of any analysis focusing on the rationale of contempt of court.’
  ‘The cross-motion was by the applicant for contempt of court, relying on some of the grounds raised now before me.’
  ‘I just do not want it alleged that I am in contempt of court, my Lord.’

Phrases

beneath contempt

Utterly worthless or despicable.
‘tawdry trash that is beneath contempt’
- ‘But he's unworthy of mention; beneath contempt.’
- ‘He said: ‘Stealing from a dying woman is beneath contempt.’’
- ‘Any journalist, politician, general, writer, political operative or other so called public intellectual who can cling to such a statement is, equally, beneath contempt.’
- ‘Apparently, she thinks it's beneath contempt for politicians to ‘use’ their personal tragedies while campaigning.’
- ‘These people are beneath contempt and must be brought to justice.’
- ‘I hope he is caught and comes to realise that his behaviour is beneath contempt.’
- ‘The failure of these states to honor their commitments is beneath contempt.’
- ‘Considered so politically incorrect as to be beneath contempt.’
- ‘It is clear why these philosophers regarded Galileo's science as beneath contempt: to them it appeared pitifully trivial and inadequate.’
- ‘The idea that women could not be priests, for instance, she treated as beneath contempt, not even worth discussing.’

hold someone in contempt

Judge someone to have committed the offence of contempt of court.
‘the advocate was held in contempt for subpoenaing the judge’
- ‘Ignore a court summons and you will be held in contempt and possibly fined or even jailed.’
- ‘The judge held me in contempt, and I report to Cumberland minimum-security prison tomorrow.’
- ‘If the agency finds out that you've spoken to a reporter or even just told your friends or family about your grievance, you could be held in contempt of court, fined or imprisoned.’
- ‘Refuse, and you can be held in contempt of court.’
- ‘And number two, if she violates the order, she could be held in contempt of court and theoretically go to jail.’
- ‘Forty years ago, if you even stood up in court and said a policeman was lying, you would be held in contempt.’
- ‘Once there, if I refused to answer a question, I could be held in contempt and go to jail anyway, and there'd be nothing I could do about it.’
- ‘On some of the times I was held in contempt, that motion was held at the end of the trial so it would not slow down proceedings by having the DA or one of the DAs thrown off the case.’
- ‘Then the court could hold him in contempt - sending him to jail indefinitely, until he changed his mind.’
- ‘She had called my office because she intended to hold him in contempt.’

hold someone/something in contempt

Consider someone or something to be unworthy of respect or attention.
‘the speed limit is held in contempt by many drivers’
- ‘It's a matter of being willing to be aggressive against people who quite publicly hold you in contempt whether you agree with them or not.’
- ‘They have come to the conclusion that they are going to be screwed regardless of which party is in power, and they prefer to be screwed by a group that doesn't appear to hold them in contempt.’
- ‘Probably should have let him hold me in contempt, now that I think about it.’
- ‘He further contended that the justice court had failed to conduct an appropriate hearing and held him in contempt without evidence that he was responsible for failing to pay the fine.’
- ‘And even if he held her in contempt now, he had loved her once.’
- ‘However, on this occasion, not even fortune could give Macdonwald the victory, because Macbeth held her in contempt and won the battle anyway.’