despise

despise
verb

he despised weakness

Syn:
detest, hate, loathe, abhor, execrate, deplore, dislike; scorn, disdain, look down on, deride, sneer at, revile; spurn, shun; formal abominate; archaic, or literary contemn
Ant:
adore
••
despise, abhor, contemn, detest, disdain, loathe, scorn
It's one thing to dislike someone; it's quite another to despise or detest the person. Both are strong words, used to describe extreme dislike or hatred. Detest is probably the purest expression of hatred (she detested the woman who had raised her, and longed to find her own mother), while despise suggests looking down with great contempt and regarding the person as mean, petty, weak, or worthless (he despised men whose only concern was their own safety). Disdain carries even stronger connotations of superiority, often combined with self-righteousness (to disdain anyone lacking a college education). Scorn is a stronger word for disdain, and it implies an attitude of not only contempt but of haughty rejection or refusal (to scorn the woman he'd once loved). To loathe something is to feel utter disgust toward it (he grew to loathe peanut butter and jelly sandwiches) and to abhor it is to feel a profound, shuddering, repugnance (she abhorred the very idea of asking her husband for the money). Contemn is a more literary word meaning to treat with disdain, scorn, or contempt.

Thesaurus of popular words. 2014.

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Synonyms:
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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Despise — De*spise , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Despised}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Despising}.] [OF. despis , in some forms of despire to despise, fr. L. despicere, despectum, to look down upon, despise; de + spicere, specere, to look. See {Spy}, and cf. {Despicable},… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • despise — despise, contemn, scorn, disdain, scout mean to regard a person or thing as beneath one s notice or as unworthy of one s attention or interest. The same differences in implications and connotations are observable in the corresponding nouns… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • despise — [di spīz′] vt. despised, despising [ME despisen < OFr despis , stem of despirer < L despicere, to look down upon, despise < de, down, from + specere, to look at: see SPECTACLE] 1. to look down on with contempt and scorn 2. to regard with …   English World dictionary

  • despise — c.1300, from O.Fr. despis , prp. stem of despire to despise, from L. despicere look down on, scorn, from de down (see DE (Cf. de )) + spicere/specere look at (see SCOPE (Cf. scope) (1)). Related …   Etymology dictionary

  • despise — index contemn, decry, disdain, disfavor, dishonor (deprive of honor), flout, misprize, rebuff, reject …   Law dictionary

  • despise — must be spelt ise, not ize. See ise …   Modern English usage

  • despise — [v] look down on abhor, abominate, allergic to*, contemn, deride, detest, disdain, disregard, eschew, execrate, feel contempt for, flout, hate, have no use for*, loathe, look down nose at*, misprize, neglect, put down*, reject, renounce,… …   New thesaurus

  • despise — ► VERB ▪ feel contempt or repugnance for. DERIVATIVES despiser noun. ORIGIN Latin despicere look down …   English terms dictionary

  • despise — v. 1) to despise utterly 2) (D; tr.) to despise for (I despised him for his cowardice) 3) (K) I despise his refusing to accept responsibility * * * [dɪs paɪz] (K) I despise his refusing to accept responsibility to despiseutterly (D;tr.) to… …   Combinatory dictionary

  • Despise — Despicable and Dispicable redirect here. Despise means to regard with contempt or scorn. It may also refer to: Music Despised Icon, an extreme metal band Despise the Sun, an album A song by metal band, Slipknot on the digipak version of their… …   Wikipedia

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