Contempt Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

contempt ; 1 · a feeling that someone or something is not worthy of any respect or approval He feels that wealthy people view/regard him with contempt because he ... Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut contempt noun SaveWord con·​tempt |\kən-ˈtem(p)t \ EssentialMeaningofcontempt 1 :afeelingthatsomeoneorsomethingisnotworthyofanyrespectorapproval Hefeelsthatwealthypeopleview/regardhimwithcontemptbecauseheispoor.Hespokewithcontemptinhisvoice.SeeMoreExamplesShehascontemptforthem.=Sheholdsthemincontempt.Shehasdisplayedaprofoundcontemptforheropponents.Hide 2 :alackofrespectfororfearofsomethingthatisusuallyrespectedorfeared Theyhaveactedwithcontemptforpublicsafety.[=theyhavecompletelyignoredpublicsafety]Hehasacontemptfordanger.[=heignoresdanger;heisnotafraidofdoingthingsthatotherpeopleareafraidtodo] 3 law :speechorbehaviorthatdoesnotshowproperrespecttoacourtorjudge Shewasarrestedforcontemptofcourt.Hewasheldincontempt[=consideredbythecourttohavebrokenthelawbydisobeyingordisrespectingthejudge]forhisoutburstsduringthetrial. FullDefinitionofcontempt 1a :theactofdespising:thestateofmindofonewhodespises:disdain glaredathimincontempt b :lackofrespectorreverenceforsomething actingwithcontemptforpublicsafety 2 :thestateofbeingdespised 3 :willfuldisobediencetooropendisrespectofacourt,judge,orlegislativebody contemptofcourt Synonyms&Antonyms FrequentlyAskedQuestionsAboutcontempt MoreExampleSentences LearnMoreAboutcontempt Synonyms&Antonymsforcontempt Synonyms contemptuousness, despisement, despite, despitefulness, disdain, misprision, scorn Antonyms admiration, esteem, estimation, favor, regard, respect VisittheThesaurusforMore  FrequentlyAskedQuestionsAboutcontempt Whatdoes'incontempt'mean? Apersonmaybeheldincontemptinanumberofways.Thelegalsensemaybedefinedas"willfuldisobediencetooropendisrespectofacourt,judge,orlegislativebody."Inageneralsenseifyouholdsomeoneincontemptitsimplymeansthatyoudespiseorstronglydisapproveofthem. Isthewordcontemptaverb? Contemptistypicallyanoun:peoplefeelcontempt,forexample,ortheyactwithcontempt.Thewordis,however,alsoaverb,butasaverbitisarchaic,andmaybeviewedasamistake.Itissynonymouswiththeverbcontemn,which,althoughsomewhatobscure,isnotarchaic. Doescontemptmean"disdain"? Inmanywaysthewordsaresynonymous;onemaybesaidtohaveeitherdisdainorcontemptforathingonescorns,withoutasignificantchangeinmeaning.Disdainmorecommonlyfunctionsasaverb(theverbsenseofcontemptisnolongerincommonuse),soonewouldwrite"Idisdainedtheoffer"ratherthan"Icontemptedtheoffer."Andcontemptisfoundusedinlegalsettings(inthephrasecontemptofcourt,forinstance),whiledisdainisnot. ExamplesofcontemptinaSentence There,inthetallgrassandthejungle,manywouldfallandtherestwouldreturnhometoendurethesullencontemptoftheirfellowcitizens,alltonopurpose. —A.J.Bacevich,Commonweal,12Sept.1997 Ievenreadamildcontemptintothisfirst-namebusiness,comparabletotheoldhabitofcallingmenMac,Ace,Chief,orBuddy,orcallingwomenHoney,Sweetie,orDoll. —Aristides,AmericanScholar,Summer1996 Thesamecontemptforthepoorthatsuggestskidsarebetteroffinorphanageswillmobilizeresistancetotheorphanagesthemselves. —KathaPollitt,Nation,12Dec.1994 …theylookedwithcontemptatthebloodlessgrayarthritichandsoftheoldwoman… —AliceWalker,InLove&Trouble,1973 Hefeelsthatwealthypeopleviewhimwithcontemptbecauseheispoor. Hespokewithcontemptinhisvoice. Shehasdisplayedaprofoundcontemptforheropponents. Shewasarrestedforcontemptofcourt. SeeMore RecentExamplesontheWeb Tuesdayevening’s222-208vote,largelyalongpartylines,showedtheHousemovingrapidlyafterthecommitteeestablishedtoinvestigatetheJan.6riothadrecommendedthatthechamberholdMr.Meadowsincontempt. — SiobhanHughes,WSJ,15Dec.2021 ThetextsmessageswerereadbyRep.LizCheney,R-Wyo.,duringaMondaynighthearingoftheHouseselectcommitteeinvestigatingtheeventsofJan.6,whichvotedtoholdMeadowsincontemptfordefyingasubpoenatoappearbeforethecommittee. — JeremyBarr,AnchorageDailyNews,14Dec.2021 ThefullHouseisexpectedtovoteonwhethertoholdMeadowsincontemptlaterTuesday. — MelissaQuinn,CBSNews,14Dec.2021 MembersofthepanelwillvotetoformallyadvancethecriminalcontemptreportagainstMeadowsforafullfloorHousevoteassoonaslaterthisweek. — ZacharyCohenAndRyanNobles,CNN,13Dec.2021 Aftertheunanimouscommitteevote,thefullHousecouldholdMeadowsincontemptasearlyasTuesday. — BenjaminSiegel,ABCNews,13Dec.2021 Despiteaninvestorslawsuitandafederalcourtorder,Thompson,69,stillwon’tcooperatewithauthoritiestryingtofindthosecoins,accordingtocourtrecords,federalprosecutorsandthejudgewhofoundThompsonincontempt. — NBCNews,10Dec.2021 ThecommitteehasalsorecommendedTrump’sformerlegalcounselJeffreyClarkbeheldincontemptforhisrefusaltocooperate. — MasonBissada,Forbes,10Dec.2021 Despiteaninvestorslawsuitandafederalcourtorder,Thompson,69,stillwon'tcooperatewithauthoritiestryingtofindthosecoins,accordingtocourtrecords,federalprosecutorsandthejudgewhofoundThompsonincontempt. — FoxNews,10Dec.2021 Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'contempt.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. SeeMore FirstKnownUseofcontempt 14thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedatsense1a HistoryandEtymologyforcontempt MiddleEnglish,borrowedfromAnglo-French&Latin;Anglo-French,borrowedfromLatincontemptus,fromcontemnere"tolookdownon,shownorespectfor,despise"+-tus,suffixofactionnouns(withlossofnandintrusivep)—moreatcontemn LearnMoreAboutcontempt Sharecontempt PosttheDefinitionofcontempttoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofcontemptonTwitter TimeTravelerforcontempt Thefirstknownuseofcontemptwas inthe14thcentury Seemorewordsfromthesamecentury FromtheEditorsatMerriam-Webster Merriam-Webster'sWordsoftheWeek-... Merriam-Webster'sWordsoftheWeek-Oct.15 ThewordsthatdefinedtheweekendingOctober15th,2021 Trending:Barr'HeldinContempt'of... Trending:Barr'HeldinContempt'ofCongress DictionaryEntriesNearcontempt contemporize contempt contemptible SeeMoreNearbyEntries  PhrasesRelatedtocontempt beneathcontempt figureofcontempt heldincontempt Statisticsforcontempt LastUpdated 17Dec2021 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Contempt.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contempt.Accessed27Dec.2021. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MoreDefinitionsforcontempt contempt noun con·​tempt |\kən-ˈtempt \ KidsDefinitionofcontempt 1 :afeelingofdisrespectordisapprovalofsomethingorsomeone Itamusedhimthatshepretendedsuchcontemptforhimandyetcondescendedtoshowoff…—EstherForbes,JohnnyTremain 2 :thestateofbeingdespised Heholdsthemincontempt. 3 :lackofproperrespectforajudgeorcourt Hewasfinedforcontemptofcourt. contempt noun con·​tempt |\kən-ˈtempt \ Legal Definitionofcontempt 1 :willfuldisobedienceoropendisrespectoftheorders,authority,ordignityofacourtorjudgeactinginajudicialcapacitybydisruptivelanguageorconductorbyfailuretoobeythecourt'sorders also :theoffenseofcontempt —calledalso contemptofcourt — civilcontempt :contemptthatconsistsofdisobediencetoacourtorderinfavoroftheopposingparty Note: Thesanctionsforcivilcontemptenduponcompliancewiththeorder. — constructivecontempt :indirectcontemptinthisentry — criminalcontempt :contemptconsistingofconductthatdisruptsoropposestheproceedingsorpowerofthecourt Note: Thesanctionsforcriminalcontemptaredesignedtopunishaswellastocoercecompliance. — directcontempt :contemptcommittedinthepresenceofthecourtorinalocationcloseenoughtodisruptthecourt'sproceedings — indirectcontempt :contempt(asdisobedienceofacourtorder)thatoccursoutsideofthepresenceofthecourt 2 :willfuldisobediencetoalawfulorderoforwillfulobstructionofalegislativebodyinthecourseofexercisingitspowers contemptofCongress incontempt :inthestateofhavingbeenfoundguiltyofcontempt refusedtotestifyandwereheldincontempt—A.M.Dershowitz MorefromMerriam-Websteroncontempt Nglish:TranslationofcontemptforSpanishSpeakers BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofcontemptforArabicSpeakers Britannica.com:Encyclopediaarticleaboutcontempt WORDOFTHEDAY livid SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! TestYourVocabulary DifficultSpellingWordsQuiz Whichisthecorrectspelling? accomodate accommodate acommodate acommadate Testyourknowledge-andmaybelearnsomethingalongtheway. TAKETHEQUIZ Adailychallengeforcrosswordfanatics. TAKETHEQUIZ SubscribetoAmerica'slargestdictionaryandgetthousandsmoredefinitionsandadvancedsearch—adfree! Merriam-Websterunabridged WordsatPlay “InVinoVeritas”andOtherLatinPhrasestoLiveBy Top10LatinPhrases Merriam-Webster'sWordsoftheWeek-Dec.24 Fromtheweekending12/24/2021 ChristmasWordOrigins|9SurprisingHistories There'snobreadin'gingerbread' AFewWordson'Toast' Awordwithsurprisinglyliteralorigins AsktheEditors 'Everyday'vs.'EveryDay' Asimpletricktokeepthemseparate WhatIs'SemanticBleaching'? How'literally'canmean"figuratively" Literally Howtouseawordthat(literally)drivessomepe... IsSingular'They'aBetterChoice? Theawkwardcaseof'hisorher' WordGames NaughtyorNice Aquizofvicesandvirtues Takethequiz HolidayPartyQuiz Agiftinquestionform Takethequiz TrueorFalse? Testyourknowledge-andmaybelearnsomethinga... Takethequiz