despisement

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /dɪˈspaɪzmənt/ UK /dɪˈspaɪzmənt/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
the act or feeling of despising; contempt

His open despisement of flattery made him many enemies at court.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the act or feeling of... contempt scorn disdain derision contumely

Opposites

admiration esteem respect

Word family

Related forms despise despisal despicable despect

Etymology

From despise + -ment. Despise is from Old French despire, from Latin despicere ('to look down on'), from de- ('down') + specere ('to look').

despicere Latin specere Latin *spek- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# despisement

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

## Meanings
1. the act or feeling of despising; contempt

## Examples
- His open despisement of flattery made him many enemies at court.

## Synonyms
- contempt
- scorn
- disdain
- derision
- contumely

## Antonyms
- admiration
- esteem
- respect

## Related Forms
- despise
- despisal
- despicable
- despect

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: despicere
- Root: specere - to look at
- Root: *spek-

## Etymology
From despise + -ment. Despise is from Old French despire, from Latin despicere ('to look down on'), from de- ('down') + specere ('to look').

## AI Etymology
Despisement is from despise + -ment. Despise is from Old French despire, from Latin despicere ('to look down on'), from de- ('down') + specere ('to look'). The ancestry passes through Latin despicere, Latin specere, and Proto-Indo-European *spek-. The prefix de- often marks removal, reversal, or downward motion in Latin formations, helping to explain the word's surface structure. In present use as a noun, it means "the act or feeling of despising; contempt", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Related words include despise, despisal, despicable, and despect.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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