contumely

C2+ Topic:Health & Medicine

US /ˈkɑntəˌmili/ UK /ˈkɒntjʊmɪli/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
insolent or contemptuous treatment; humiliating rudeness

He bore the contumely of his rivals with quiet dignity.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · insolent or contemptuous... insolence scorn abuse contempt insult derision obloquy disdain

Opposites

respect courtesy deference praise

Word family

Derived forms contumelious contumeliously

Related forms contemn contempt tumid

Etymology

From Old French contumelie, from Latin contumelia ('insult, reproach'), probably from contumere ('to swell with pride'), related to tumere ('to swell').

contumelia Latin tumere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Health & Medicine Word Formation & Derivatives

# contumely

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** ˈkɑntəˌmili
**IPA (UK):** ˈkɒntjʊmɪli

## Meanings
1. insolent or contemptuous treatment; humiliating rudeness

## Examples
- He bore the contumely of his rivals with quiet dignity.

## Synonyms
- insolence
- scorn
- abuse
- contempt
- insult
- derision
- obloquy
- disdain

## Antonyms
- respect
- courtesy
- deference
- praise

## Derived Forms
- contumelious
- contumeliously

## Related Forms
- contemn
- contempt
- tumid

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: contumelia
- Root: tumere

## Etymology
From Old French contumelie, from Latin contumelia ('insult, reproach'), probably from contumere ('to swell with pride'), related to tumere ('to swell').

## AI Etymology
Contumely is from Old French contumelie, from Latin contumelia ('insult, reproach'), probably from contumere ('to swell with pride'), related to tumere ('to swell'). The ancestry passes through Latin contumelia and Latin tumere. In present use as a noun, it means "insolent or contemptuous treatment; humiliating rudeness", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Related words include contemn, contempt, and tumid; derived forms include contumelious and contumeliously. Its contrast set includes respect, courtesy, deference, and praise, which clarifies the semantic boundary of the modern word.

## Topics
- Health & Medicine
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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