Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense despises, present participle despising, past tense, past participle despised
verb
If you despise something or someone, you dislike them and have a very low opinion of them.
I can never, ever forgive him. I despise him. [VERB noun]
She secretly despises his work. [VERB noun]
How I despised myself for my cowardice! [V pron-refl for n/-ing]
Synonyms: look down on, loathe, scorn, disdain More Synonyms of despise
despise in British English
(dɪˈspaɪz)
verb
(transitive)
to look down on with contempt; scorn
he despises flattery
Derived forms
despiser (deˈspiser)
noun
Word origin
C13: from Old French despire, from Latin dēspicere to look down, from de- + specere to look
despise in American English
(dɪˈspaɪz)
verb transitiveWord forms: deˈspised or deˈspising
1.
to look down on with contempt and scorn
2.
to regard with dislike or repugnance
SIMILAR WORDS: hate
SYNONYMY NOTE: despise implies a strong emotional response toward that which one looks down upon with contemptor aversion [to despise a hypocrite]; to scorn is to feel indignation toward or deep contempt for [to scorn the offer of a bribe]; disdain implies a haughty or arrogant contempt for what one considers beneath one's dignity[to disdain flattery]; contemn, chiefly a literary word, implies a vehement disapproval of a person or thing asbase, vile, or despicable
Word origin
ME despisen < OFr despis-, stem of despirer < L despicere, to look down upon, despise < de, down, from + specere, to look at: see spectacle
Examples of 'despise' in a sentence
despise
She cried hysterically, and said that he would always despise her.
George Eliot Daniel Deronda (1876)
Can she lose weight, improve her health and learn to love the body she has always despised?
The Sun (2006)
In other languages
despise
British English: despise /dɪˈspaɪz/ VERB
If you despise someone or something, you hate them very much.
I despised myself for my cowardly behaviour.
American English: despise
Arabic: يَحْتَقِرُ
Brazilian Portuguese: desprezar
Chinese: 鄙视
Croatian: prezirati
Czech: opovrhovat
Danish: foragte
Dutch: verafschuwen
European Spanish: despreciar
Finnish: halveksia
French: mépriser
German: verachten
Greek: περιφρονώ
Italian: disprezzare
Japanese: 軽蔑する
Korean: 경멸하다
Norwegian: forakte
Polish: wzgardzić
European Portuguese: desprezar
Romanian: a disprețui
Russian: презирать
Latin American Spanish: despreciar
Swedish: förakta
Thai: เหยียดหยาม
Turkish: hor görmek
Ukrainian: зневажати
Vietnamese: khinh thường
Chinese translation of 'despise'
despise
(dɪsˈpaɪz)
vt
鄙视(視) (bǐshì)
(verb)
Definition
to look down on with contempt
How I despised myself for my cowardice.
Synonyms
look down on
loathe
The two men loathe each other.
scorn
people who scorned traditional methods
People scorn me as a single parent.
disdain
a political leader who disdained the compromises of politics
spurn
a spurned lover
undervalue
deride
This theory is widely derided by conventional scientists.
detest
I always detested my science teacher.
revile
abhor
He was a man who abhorred violence.
have a down on (informal)
contemn
Opposites
love
,
take to
,
admire
,
esteem
,
relish
,
adore
,
cherish
,
revel in
,
be fond of
,
be keen on
,
dig (slang)
Additional synonyms
in the sense of abhor
Definition
to detest utterly
He was a man who abhorred violence.
Synonyms
hate,
loathe,
despise,
detest,
shrink from,
shudder at,
recoil from,
be repelled by,
have an aversion to,
abominate,
execrate,
regard with repugnance or horror
in the sense of contemn
Definition
to regard with contempt
Synonyms
despise,
slight,
neglect,
disregard,
scorn,
disdain,
spurn,
treat with contempt,
hold cheap
in the sense of deride
Definition
to speak of or treat with contempt or ridicule
This theory is widely derided by conventional scientists.