contemptuosity

English

Etymology

From contemptu(ous) +‎ -osity.

Noun

contemptuosity (countable and uncountable, plural contemptuosities)

1. (rare, uncountable) The state of being contemptuous.
   • 1846 October, William Carleton, “[The Black Prophet.—A Tale of Irish Famine.] Chapter XXII.—Jemmy Branigan and the Pedlar.”, in The Dublin University Magazine, a Literary and Political Journal, volume XXVIII, number CLXVI, Dublin: James M^cGlashan, […]. W[illiam] S[omerville] Orr and Company, London, page 476, column 2:

     That the said Mr. Cornelius Dalton persisted, notwithstanding this great act of contemptuosity and discouragement to his creditable and industrious endeavours, to expend, upon the aforesaid farm, in solid and valuable improvements, a sum of seven hundred pounds and upwards, in building, draining enclosing, and manuring—all of which improvements transcendantly elevated the value of the farm in question, as the whole rational population of the country could depose to—me ipso teste quoque.

   • 1850, A[nthony] Younge, “Scene I.—A Rural Scene.”, in A Village Tale, an Interlude, […], London: […] S. G. Fairbrother, […], page 5:

     Tony. And so I was Bessy, I was quarrelling with myself, I assure you it takes a deal of powerful language to make any impression on me, I’m obliged to come it very strong to do myself any good, but I think I have at last lashed myself into a determination not to stand it as I have done. Bessy. [r.] To stand what Tony. Tony. Why your uncle’s contemptuosity and opposition to our union; I suppose because my cousin won’t marry him—he likes to make every body as miserable as himself.

   • 1868, Rayne Meade [pseudonym; Walter Parke], “The Tents of Torture”, in The Skull Hunters!: A Terrific Tale of the Prairie!! (Judy’s Library.—No. 1.), London: Judy’s Publishing Office, […], page 83:

     “Fairest Isabella!” he cried, flinging himself at her feet, “long have I been paying my addresses—though the bill was not sent in,—vouchsafe, however, to say you will return my affection.” “Avaunt!” she cried, “thy bones are marrow”— “—Less,” he replied, “very much less, Señora. But why this rejectiousness and contemptuosity? I love thee with an affection that is killing me by inches—if not yards. Say thou wilt be mine, […]”

   • 1887, G[eorge] Duckworth Atkin (collector), House Scraps, London: […] [T]he Author […], page 8:

     A certain German gentleman, not a hundred miles from the Spanish market, got cross one day with some members who were teasing him, and informed them that “familiarity breeds contemptuosity.”

   • 1890 May 31, Brittle, “Sparks from Brittle’s Pen. Interesting Facts and Fancies Culled from the Doggy World.”, in The Fanciers’ Journal. Devoted to Dogs, Poultry, Pigeons & Pet Stock., volume 4, number 22 (whole 63), Philadelphia, Pa.: The Fanciers’ Publishing Company, page 342, column 2:

     This reminds me that my revered friend, H. W. L., cannot consider this paper even a circumstance, at least so I would gather from his self-congratulatory par. last week in Turf, Field and Farm concerning “we were the only one who mentioned Mr. Harrison having bought Mr. Charles’ collies, etc.” What have you done to H. W. L. that he should treat you with such “contemptuosity?”

   • 1892, “[St. Martin’s Letter-Bag.] Electricity at the Crystal Palace.”, in St. Martin’s-le-Grand. The Post Office Magazine., volume II, London: […] [F]or the Honorary Secretaries by W. P. Griffith & Sons, Limited, […], page 136:

     The fact is that, as Mr. Toole would say, “too much over-familiarity breeds contemptuosity.”

   • 1902, Watson Bradshaw, “[Notes.] Hercules Furens.”, in The Ten Tragedies of Seneca, with Notes, Rendered into English Prose as Equivalently as the Idioms of Both Languages Permit, London: [William] Swan Sonnenschein & Co., Lim., […], line 18 (Puellæ Gnossiacæ), page 708:

     Juno was at the boiling-point of indignation at the wholesale amours of Jupiter, and I have used the word “wench” as applied to Ariadne, in order to point out her utter contemptuosity towards that personage, as the term “wench” in our own language is generally used in a sense of disrespect.

   • 1919 May, “[Year Notes.] Fifth Year Notes.”, in The Speculum. The Journal of the Melbourne Medical Students’ Society., number 103, Melbourne, Vic., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 58:

     He tried to sell the pieces as old iron. With scorn and contemptuosity we have to record that this profiteering salesman only offered £1!

   • 1926, Paul G. B. Norris, “[Seniors] Senior Class History”, in The 1926 Synapsis, volume II, Philadelphia, Pa.: The Junior Class of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathy, page 43:

     From the day of its inception, the class established itself upon a basis, stolid and unequivocal. Open warfare was pledged on intra-class hostilities and their disruptive denouements; an excoriating contemptuosity tor trimmed opinion developed; gibraltaric standards of intrinsic benevolence were adopted; salutary regard for the institution was insisted upon; and a confidence in the administration of the Class was pledged.

   • 1927 November 25, J. Jingle, “Merely My Musings”, in The Dabbo Liberal and Macquarie Advocate, page 2, column 3:

     When the aforesaid alderman or another wishes to express mild contemptuosity for his fellows and himself in future I would suggest “old fossils” or “old has beens,” or “old fogies,” then the Sir Galahads that are always riding—or driving—about in this progressive dorp will not have any cause to complain.

   • 1968 May 4, H. A. Luckert, “Voice of the People: Simultaneous Trials”, in Franklin D. Schurz, editor, The South Bend Tribune, volume XCVI, number 57, South Bend, Ind.: Franklin D. Schurz, page 4:

     Dr Holt’s contemptuosity being well established, he should be sentenced to sit in jail until the promised school building plan, now almost two months late, is completed.

   • 1995, Gary Esarey, “Boxing the fox”, in How Crows Talk and Willows Walk, Boise, Ida.: Ahsahta Press, Boise State University, →ISBN, page 41:

     In attitude so loving sweet, madly, life, how did you expect to die, well, equanimitably? — with a bloody snap of the fingers, dearie? with a bleeding cast of facial contemptuosity, ducky?

   • 2003 March 10, JJM1954, “CHD is still a bastard... and a GAY loser”, in alt.sports.baseball.atlanta-braves (Usenet):

     >Why are you upset then? / I'm not upset, dumbass. I'm contemptuous. If only there were a glyph for contemptuosity. Perhaps then you'd understand.

   • 2022 July 4, “Abad defeated, Bechu promoted and Veran hindered by Gregoire's Doudou”, in Daily News‎^[1], archived from the original on 9 August 2022:

     As on the left and right, strong reactions have been generated by the abolishment of the Ministry of Overseas (which is now part of the Ministry of the Interior). "How can you not see the contemptuosity [translating mépris], outrage and colonial reference?" asked Communist MP Elsa Faucillon.

2. (rare, countable) Someone or something that is contemptuous.
   • 1872 January 20, J. R. Robinson, “From the Winona (Minn.) Republican. Huxley and the Spiritualists. That Eminent Scientist Catches an American Tartar in a Winona Defender of the Faith.”, in Religio-Philosophical Journal, volume XI, number 18, Chicago, Ill.: S[teven] S. Jones, page 1, column 5:

     And now, if all the devices made use of on the occasion we have suggested—scowls, contemptuosities, cries of “humbug,” “devil in’t,“ charlatanry, and the hue and cry of editors, D. D.’s, M. D.’s, priests, lawyers, fashionability of churches, etc., put into grand action for reversing the mighty current of the Mrs. Scip., would prove a non sequitur, you can judge of the result of similar action upon the great “humbug,” Spiritualism; for, be it known to the sagacity of the corps editorial of The Winona Republican, that the said “humbug” is just as surely the mighty flow of Life’s unfoldings as the flowing waters of that great river are the results of gravitation. But, gentlemen, editors, and scientists, you must hurry up if you expect to kill Spiritualism with sneers, jibes, jokes, contemptuosities, scowls, inuendoes, or anything on that line, for you’ll find it a full Summer’s work. It has got to be a mighty hum—or rather snapping—bug.

   • 1898 March 26, “Sport Jots”, in The Clipper, volume 4, number 259, Hobart, Tas., page 4, column 3:

     A contemptuosity writes:⁠—“The League of Victorian Wheelmen allow their racing men to ride in anything, from a nightshirt to a potato sack. When Crisp won the Austral he rode in a sleeveless football or rowing guernsey, and looked so nice, as you may imagine.”

   • 1933 August, Max Eastman, “Self Portrait”, in New Masses, volume 8, number 12, New York, N.Y.: New Masses, Inc., page 10, column 1:

     I had at this time already written my reply to my critics, and you persuaded me, you remember, to omit from the section on Sidney Hook my principal accusation against him—which is that in the Journal of Philosophy he reproduced my whole criticism of the Marxian philosophy of history, ten distinct ideas to be exact, and instead of acknowledging it, offered me one of his glib contemptuosities.

Synonyms

• contemptuousness