despise
verb /dɪˈspaɪz/
/dɪˈspaɪz/
not used in the progressive tensesVerb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they despise | /dɪˈspaɪz/ /dɪˈspaɪz/ |
| he / she / it despises | /dɪˈspaɪzɪz/ /dɪˈspaɪzɪz/ |
| past simple despised | /dɪˈspaɪzd/ /dɪˈspaɪzd/ |
| past participle despised | /dɪˈspaɪzd/ /dɪˈspaɪzd/ |
| past simple despising | /dɪˈspaɪzɪŋ/ /dɪˈspaɪzɪŋ/ |
| past participle despising | /dɪˈspaɪzɪŋ/ /dɪˈspaɪzɪŋ/ |
- to dislike and have no respect for somebody/something
- despise somebody/something She despised gossip in any form.
- I don’t know why they despise me so much.
- despise somebody/yourself for (doing) something He despised himself for being so cowardly.
- She thoroughly despised him for his weakness.
Synonyms hatehateTopics Preferences and decisionsc1- dislike
- can’t stand
- despise
- can’t bear
- loathe
- detest
- hate to have a strong feeling of dislike for somebody/something. Although hate is generally a very strong verb, it is also commonly used in spoken or informal English to talk about people or things that you dislike in a less important way, for example a particular type of food: He hates violence in any form. • I’ve always hated cabbage.
- dislike (rather formal) to not like somebody/something. Dislike is a rather formal word; it is less formal, and more usual, to say that you don't like somebody/something, especially in spoken English: I don’t like it when you phone me so late at night.
- can’t stand (rather informal) used to emphasize that you really do not like somebody/something:
- I can’t stand his brother.
- She couldn’t stand being kept waiting.
- despise to dislike and have no respect for somebody/something:
- He despised himself for being so cowardly.
- can’t bear used to say that you dislike something so much that you cannot accept or deal with it:
- I can’t bear having cats in the house.
- loathe to hate somebody/something very much:
- They loathe each other.
- detest (rather formal) to hate somebody/something very much:
- They absolutely detest each other.
- I hate/dislike/can’t stand/can’t bear/loathe/detest doing something.
- I hate/can’t bear to do something.
- I hate/dislike/can’t stand/can’t bear it when…
- I really hate/dislike/can’t stand/despise/can’t bear/detest somebody/something.
- I absolutely hate/can’t stand/loathe/detest somebody/something.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- absolutely
- really
- thoroughly
- …
- for
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French despire, from Latin despicere, from de- ‘down’ + specere ‘look at’.