English
Etymology
From Middle English contemptible, from Latin contemptibilis.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kənˈtɛmptəbəl/
Adjective
contemptible (comparative more contemptible, superlative most contemptible)
- Deserving contempt.
- Synonyms: despicable, disdainable, hateworthy; see also Thesaurus:despicable
- Antonyms: respectable, venerable
1667, Francisco de Quevedo Villegas, “The Sixth Vision of Hell”, in R[oger] L[’Estrange], transl., The Visions of Dom Francisco de Quevedo Villegas, […], London: […] H[enry] Herringman […], →OCLC, page 247:But a Devil came in juſt in the God-ſpeed, and told them; Gentlemen Philoſophers, (ſays he) if you vvould knovv the VVretched'ſt, and moſt contemptible thing in the VVorld; It is an Alchymiſt: […]
1814 May 9, [Jane Austen], chapter I, in Mansfield Park: […], volume I, London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, page 2:Miss Ward's match, indeed, when it came to the point, was not contemptible: Sir Thomas being happily able to give his friend an income in the living of Mansfield […]
Derived terms
Translations
deserving contempt
- Belarusian: нікчэмны (nikčemny), ва́рты пага́рды (várty pahárdy)
- Bulgarian: достоен за презрение (dostoen za prezrenie), низък (bg) (nizǎk), подъл (bg) (podǎl)
- Catalan: menyspreable (ca)
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 可鄙 (zh) (kěbǐ)
- Czech: opovrženíhodný (cs)
- Dutch: verachtelijk (nl)
- Esperanto: aĉa (eo)
- Finnish: halveksittava, alhainen (fi)
- French: méprisable (fr)
- Galician: desprezábel (gl)
- German: verachtenswürdig, verachtenswert (de)
- Hebrew: בזוי m (bazui), בזויה f (bzuia)
- Hungarian: megvetendő (hu)
- Ido: desestiminda (io)
- Irish: dímhigneach, drochmheasúil, míolach, neamhshuimiúil, péisteogach, péistiúil, sramach, suaibhreosach, suarach
- Italian: biasimabile, disdicevole (it), disprezzabile (it), ignobile (it), riprovevole (it), scorbutico (it), spregevole (it)
- Japanese: 蔑むべき (ja) (sagesumu beki)
- Latin: contemptus, contemptibilis
- Macedonian: ни́зок (nízok), по́дмолен (pódmolen), по́дол (pódol), пре́зрив (prézriv)
- Norwegian:
- Bokmål: foraktelig
- Nynorsk: please add this translation if you can
- Ottoman Turkish: آلچاق (alçak), رذیل (rezil), ذلیل (zelil)
- Persian: خوار (fa) (xâr)
- Plautdietsch: niedatrajchtich
- Polish: godny pogardy
- Portuguese: desprezível (pt)
- Romanian: demn de dispreț, disprețuibil
- Russian: ни́зкий (ru) (nízkij), подлый (ru) (podlyj), презре́нный (ru) (prezrénnyj)
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic: please add this translation if you can
- Roman: podao (sh)
- Spanish: bajo (es), desdeñable (es), despreciable (es), menospreciable (es), rastrero (es), contentible (es) (rare)
- Ukrainian: зневажений (znevazhenyy)
- Yagara: ban
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