US /dɪˈspaɪzɚ/ UK /dɪˈspaɪzə/
noun Freq #568011

Meanings

  1. 1
    noun

    a person who regards someone or something with contempt

    He was a vocal despiser of luxury and courtly ceremony.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 noun · a person who regards... scornercontemner
Opposites
Word family
Related forms despisecontemptdisdain

Etymology

Formed from despise + the agent suffix -er, literally 'one who despises.' Despise comes through Old French from Latin despicere, 'to look down on,' formed from de-, 'down,' + specere, 'to look.' The etymology preserves the metaphor behind contempt.

Topics

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