SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
disdain
noun / verb
A feeling that someone or something is beneath consideration or respect.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Feeling of superiority or contempt
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topDerision expresses ridicule; disdain may remain an unspoken sense that something is beneath consideration.
Regard or reject as unworthy
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topSpurn emphasizes rejection, while despise emphasizes the feeling. Contemn is a formal, uncommon alternative for treating with contempt.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See disdain in use
The narrator treats fashionable gossip with disdain.
At a fictional architecture seminar, a presenter showed disdain for a modest housing proposal, dismissing it as beneath serious consideration before reading its details.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license