despise
/dɪˈspʌɪz
/verb [with object]
Feel contempt or a deep repugnance for: he despised himself for being selfish...
- Within two days I started despising them and feeling slightly guilty about my earlier reaction.
- I would like to know therefore why she hates and despises these unfortunates so vehemently.
- I can tell she hates my mother, despises her so much she wishes she had never set foot in her office.
Synonyms
detest, hate, loathe, abhor, abominate, execrate, regard with contempt, feel contempt for, shrink from, be repelled by, not be able to bear/stand/stomach, find intolerable, deplore, dislike;
scorn, disdain, slight, look down on, pour/heap scorn on, deride, scoff at, jeer at, sneer at, mock, revile;
spurn, shun
archaic contemn, disrelish
Derivatives
despiser
- One of the odd dangers of the sin of reactionary dissent is that, over time, you can become the sacrament despiser that you set out to oppose.
- A despiser of Western religions, he was an ardent polygamist, convinced that promiscuity was man's natural birthright.
- So while this work is unlikely to move ‘troubled friends and educated despisers,’ it will benefit pastors, church discussion groups, and first-year theology classes.
Origin
Middle English: from Old French despire, from Latin despicere, from de- 'down' + specere 'look at'.
Despise comes via Old French despit from Latin despicere, from de- ‘down’ and specere ‘look at’. Despicable ‘deserving to be despised’ (mid 16th century) comes from the same root, while spite (Middle English) is a shortening of the French.