supercilious

adjective

su·per·cil·ious ˌsü-pər-ˈsi-lē-əs How to pronounce supercilious (audio)

-ˈsil-yəs

: coolly and patronizingly haughty

reacted to their breach of etiquette with a supercilious smile

superciliously adverb

superciliousness noun

Did you know?

What is the origin of supercilious?

Arrogant and disdainful types tend to raise an eyebrow at anything they consider beneath them. The original supercilious crowd must have shown that raised-eyebrow look often, because the adjective supercilious derives from "supercilium," Latin for eyebrow. (We plucked our adjective and its meaning from the Latin adjective superciliosus.) "Supercilious" has been used to describe the censoriously overbearing since the late 1600s, but there was a time in the 1700s when it was also used as a synonym of another "supercilium" descendent, "superciliary" ("of, relating to, or adjoining the eyebrow"). Although the eyebrow sense of "supercilious" is now obsolete, it does help explain what ornithologist John Latham meant in 1782 when he described a "Supercilious K[ingfisher]" with a narrow orange stripe over its eyes.

Example Sentences

While Americans did congregate together at baseball games, … amusement parks, dance halls and arcades, tensions still roiled. The middle class may not have been as supercilious as the elites it replaced, but middle-class reformers were every bit as strident as those elites in condemning … working-class entertainments, and for the same reason: These entertainments constituted a challenge to the class's social control.

Neal Gabler, Life: The Movie, 1998 Cross' popular academic sleuth Kate Fansler returns, this time as a guest professor at the down-at-the-heels Schuyler Law School, where she has been asked to teach a course on literature and the law. Ardent feminist Kate soon finds that not only is Schuyler a bastion of intolerant, supercilious white males, but worse, any attempt by women or minorities to be heard is quickly quashed by the old-boy network.

Emily Melton, Booklist, 15 Dec. 1994 Jorgeson had a sharp tongue and was so supercilious in his remarks that I didn't know quite how seriously I should take this talk, but I enjoyed his humor and I did believe he had the sensibilities of an artist.

Thom Jones, New Yorker, 2 Dec. 1991 the supercilious art dealer rolled her eyes when we asked if she had anything for under $1,000

Recent Examples on the Web Hulu nor any of their supercilious team ever tried to engage in any negotiations with this Black man. ...

Cydney Henderson, USA TODAY, 6 Aug. 2022 To advertise that confidence with an unselfconscious, open-mouthed, haplessly disarming smile — to resist the urge, in other words, to fake an air of supercilious self-importance — is the very best thing.

Washington Post, 26 Jan. 2022 From a supercilious smile to icy anger and back again, wonderfully easeful Charles Edwards is every inch the droll Vidal.

David Benedict, Variety, 10 Dec. 2021 Absent context, hand gestures perform a supercilious pantomime.

Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2021 On the surface, Richardson appears unequivocally bold, toeing the line between confident and supercilious.

oregonlive, 19 June 2021 And the trustees who gleefully conspire in old age to gum up the keys of Petrie’s cherished typewriter seem unaltered from the supercilious, eager-to-humiliate childhood chums of long ago.

Washington Post, 16 Apr. 2021 Susan remembers Conway, a supercilious jerk, all too well.

New York Times, 2 Dec. 2020 This always induces some supercilious snickering among foreigners.

Gerard Baker, WSJ, 17 Jan. 2020 See More

supercilious

adjective

as in arrogant

having a feeling of superiority that shows itself in an overbearing attitude the supercilious art dealer rolled her eyes when we asked if she had anything for under $1,000

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

arrogant
haughty
cavalier
bumptious
superior
smug
pretentious
sniffy
pompous
uppity
assumptive
presumptuous
domineering
imperious
huffy
uppish
high-and-mighty
important
chesty
dominant
authoritarian
hifalutin
presuming
masterful
high-handed
condescending
peremptory
patronizing
highfalutin
overweening
impudent
snobbish
lordly
disdainful
toplofty
snooty
proud
dominating
self-assertive
huffish
lofty
snobby
bossy
pontifical
conceited
boastful
pontificating
high-hat
self-asserting
stiff-necked
saucy
vainglorious
toploftical
cocky
impertinent
egocentric
blusterous
narcissistic
braggart
magisterial
hubristic
swaggering
bombastic
vain
egotistic
blustery
egotistical
complacent
egoistic
self-satisfied
bragging
prideful
self-complacent
egoistical
self-conceited
braggy
stuck-up
immodest
self-centered
uninhibited
self-flattering
brash
extroverted
self-promoting
unreserved
orgulous
self-loving
self-applauding
forward
self-affected
self-pleased
extraverted

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

humble
modest
unpretentious
lowly
timid
sheepish
diffident
bashful
shy
mousy
passive
deferential
subdued
demure
introverted
meek
unassuming
unassertive
shrinking
submissive
acquiescent
unobtrusive
unarrogant
unaggressive
compliant
cringing
mousey
quiet
self-critical
self-doubting
yielding
cowering
overmodest
reserved
retiring

Synonym Chooser

Some common synonyms of supercilious are arrogant, disdainful, haughty, insolent, lordly, overbearing, and proud. While all these words mean "showing scorn for inferiors," supercilious implies a cool, patronizing haughtiness.

an aloof and supercilious manner

The synonyms arrogant and supercilious are sometimes interchangeable, but arrogant implies a claiming for oneself of more consideration or importance than is warranted.

a conceited and arrogant executive

While in some cases nearly identical to supercilious, disdainful suggests a more active and openly scornful superciliousness.

disdainful of their social inferiors

The words haughty and supercilious can be used in similar contexts, but haughty suggests a consciousness of superior birth or position.

a haughty aristocrat

While the synonyms insolent and supercilious are close in meaning, insolent implies contemptuous haughtiness.

ignored by an insolent waiter

Although the words lordly and supercilious have much in common, lordly implies pomposity or an arrogant display of power.

a lordly condescension

The words overbearing and supercilious are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, overbearing suggests a tyrannical manner or an intolerable insolence.

an overbearing supervisor

The meanings of proud and supercilious largely overlap; however, proud may suggest an assumed superiority or loftiness.

too proud to take charity

单词	supercilious
释义	supercilious adjective su·per·cil·ious ˌsü-pər-ˈsi-lē-əs -ˈsil-yəs : coolly and patronizingly haughty reacted to their breach of etiquette with a supercilious smile superciliously adverb superciliousness noun Did you know? What is the origin of supercilious? Arrogant and disdainful types tend to raise an eyebrow at anything they consider beneath them. The original supercilious crowd must have shown that raised-eyebrow look often, because the adjective supercilious derives from "supercilium," Latin for eyebrow. (We plucked our adjective and its meaning from the Latin adjective superciliosus.) "Supercilious" has been used to describe the censoriously overbearing since the late 1600s, but there was a time in the 1700s when it was also used as a synonym of another "supercilium" descendent, "superciliary" ("of, relating to, or adjoining the eyebrow"). Although the eyebrow sense of "supercilious" is now obsolete, it does help explain what ornithologist John Latham meant in 1782 when he described a "Supercilious K[ingfisher]" with a narrow orange stripe over its eyes. Synonyms arrogant assumptive bumptious cavalier chesty haughty high-and-mighty high-handed high-hat highfalutin hifalutin huffish huffy imperious important lofty lordly masterful overweening peremptory pompous presuming presumptuous pretentious self-asserting self-assertive sniffy stiff-necked superior toplofty toploftical uppish uppity See all Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences While Americans did congregate together at baseball games, … amusement parks, dance halls and arcades, tensions still roiled. The middle class may not have been as supercilious as the elites it replaced, but middle-class reformers were every bit as strident as those elites in condemning … working-class entertainments, and for the same reason: These entertainments constituted a challenge to the class's social control. Neal Gabler, Life: The Movie, 1998 Cross' popular academic sleuth Kate Fansler returns, this time as a guest professor at the down-at-the-heels Schuyler Law School, where she has been asked to teach a course on literature and the law. Ardent feminist Kate soon finds that not only is Schuyler a bastion of intolerant, supercilious white males, but worse, any attempt by women or minorities to be heard is quickly quashed by the old-boy network. Emily Melton, Booklist, 15 Dec. 1994 Jorgeson had a sharp tongue and was so supercilious in his remarks that I didn't know quite how seriously I should take this talk, but I enjoyed his humor and I did believe he had the sensibilities of an artist. Thom Jones, New Yorker, 2 Dec. 1991 the supercilious art dealer rolled her eyes when we asked if she had anything for under $1,000 Recent Examples on the Web Hulu nor any of their supercilious team ever tried to engage in any negotiations with this Black man. ... Cydney Henderson, USA TODAY, 6 Aug. 2022 To advertise that confidence with an unselfconscious, open-mouthed, haplessly disarming smile — to resist the urge, in other words, to fake an air of supercilious self-importance — is the very best thing. Washington Post, 26 Jan. 2022 From a supercilious smile to icy anger and back again, wonderfully easeful Charles Edwards is every inch the droll Vidal. David Benedict, Variety, 10 Dec. 2021 Absent context, hand gestures perform a supercilious pantomime. Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2021 On the surface, Richardson appears unequivocally bold, toeing the line between confident and supercilious. oregonlive, 19 June 2021 And the trustees who gleefully conspire in old age to gum up the keys of Petrie’s cherished typewriter seem unaltered from the supercilious, eager-to-humiliate childhood chums of long ago. Washington Post, 16 Apr. 2021 Susan remembers Conway, a supercilious jerk, all too well. New York Times, 2 Dec. 2020 This always induces some supercilious snickering among foreigners. Gerard Baker, WSJ, 17 Jan. 2020 See More Word History Etymology Latin superciliosus, from supercilium eyebrow, haughtiness, from super- + -cilium eyelid (akin to celare to hide) — more at hell First Known Use 1543, in the meaning defined above supercilious adjective as in arrogant having a feeling of superiority that shows itself in an overbearing attitude the supercilious art dealer rolled her eyes when we asked if she had anything for under $1,000 Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance arrogant haughty cavalier bumptious superior smug pretentious sniffy pompous uppity assumptive presumptuous domineering imperious huffy uppish high-and-mighty important chesty dominant authoritarian hifalutin presuming masterful high-handed condescending peremptory patronizing highfalutin overweening impudent snobbish lordly disdainful toplofty snooty proud dominating self-assertive huffish lofty snobby bossy pontifical conceited boastful pontificating high-hat self-asserting stiff-necked saucy vainglorious toploftical cocky impertinent egocentric blusterous narcissistic braggart magisterial hubristic swaggering bombastic vain egotistic blustery egotistical complacent egoistic self-satisfied bragging prideful self-complacent egoistical self-conceited braggy stuck-up immodest self-centered uninhibited self-flattering brash extroverted self-promoting unreserved orgulous self-loving self-applauding forward self-affected self-pleased extraverted Antonyms & Near Antonyms humble modest unpretentious lowly timid sheepish diffident bashful shy mousy passive deferential subdued demure introverted meek unassuming unassertive shrinking submissive acquiescent unobtrusive unarrogant unaggressive compliant cringing mousey quiet self-critical self-doubting yielding cowering overmodest reserved retiring See More Synonym Chooser Some common synonyms of supercilious are arrogant, disdainful, haughty, insolent, lordly, overbearing, and proud. While all these words mean "showing scorn for inferiors," supercilious implies a cool, patronizing haughtiness. an aloof and supercilious manner The synonyms arrogant and supercilious are sometimes interchangeable, but arrogant implies a claiming for oneself of more consideration or importance than is warranted. a conceited and arrogant executive While in some cases nearly identical to supercilious, disdainful suggests a more active and openly scornful superciliousness. disdainful of their social inferiors The words haughty and supercilious can be used in similar contexts, but haughty suggests a consciousness of superior birth or position. a haughty aristocrat While the synonyms insolent and supercilious are close in meaning, insolent implies contemptuous haughtiness. ignored by an insolent waiter Although the words lordly and supercilious have much in common, lordly implies pomposity or an arrogant display of power. a lordly condescension The words overbearing and supercilious are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, overbearing suggests a tyrannical manner or an intolerable insolence. an overbearing supervisor The meanings of proud and supercilious largely overlap; however, proud may suggest an assumed superiority or loftiness. too proud to take charity
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supercilious

adjective

Did you know?

Synonyms

Example Sentences

Word History

adjective

Synonym Chooser