Despise: To Look Down On Something With Contempt
To despise is to regard someone or something with contempt. It is stronger than dislike, and the contempt is what distinguishes it from hatred.
Despise means to regard with contempt — to consider beneath consideration. That is what separates it from hate: hatred takes its object seriously as an enemy, while contempt refuses to. Being despised is in some ways the greater insult.
- To regard with contempt. *He despised flattery.*
- To look down on. *She despised their timidity.*
- To reject as worthless. *A despised minority.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | despise | I despise the practice. |
| Adjective | despicable | A despicable act. |
| Adverb | despicably | He behaved despicably. |
| Related noun | contempt | Open contempt. |
| Related | despite | Despite the rain. |
How it is used in a sentence
- He despised anything he considered dishonest.A settled attitude rather than a reaction.
- That was a despicable thing to say.The adjective is stronger than the verb.
- Not to be despised.A wry understatement meaning genuinely valuable.
Dislike, in ascending order
- Dislike — mild and unremarkable
- Loathe — strong aversion, often physical
- Detest — intense dislike, deliberate and reasoned
- Despise — contempt; the object is beneath you
- Abhor — moral revulsion, the strongest and most formal
From Old French *despire*, from Latin *despicere*, to look down on, from *de* and *specere*, to look. The same *specere* gives spectacle, inspect and respect — literally, to look again at.
Despise or hate?
Hate is stronger emotionally. Despise adds contempt, which means treating the object as unworthy of serious feeling.
Is despite related?
Yes. It once meant contempt, and *in despite of* meant in defiance of. The modern preposition is what remains.