contemptible

English

Alternative forms

• contemptable (archaic, nonstandard)

Etymology

From Middle English contemptible, from Latin contemptibilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kənˈtɛmptəbəl/

• Audio (Mid-Atlantic US):

  (file)

Adjective

contemptible (comparative more contemptible, superlative most contemptible)

1. 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

• contemptibility
• contemptibleness
• contemptibly
• uncontemptible

 

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

• Persian: خوار (fa) (xâr)
• Plautdietsch: niedatrajchtich
• Polish: zasługujący na pogardę
• 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, contentible (es)
• Ukrainian: зневажений (znevazhenyy)
• Yagara: ban