DISDAIN • DICCIONARIO INGLES.COM • Definition of Disdain

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/dɪsdˈeɪn/ Listen

noun

Disdain n.

A feeling of contempt and aversion; the regarding anything as unworthy of or beneath one; scorn. "How my soul is moved with just disdain!" Note: Often implying an idea of haughtiness. "Disdain and scorn ride sparkling in her eyes."

That which is worthy to be disdained or regarded with contempt and aversion. (Obs.) "Most loathsome, filthy, foul, and full of vile disdain."

The state of being despised; shame. (Obs.)

Synonyms: Haughtiness; scorn; contempt; arrogance; pride. See Haughtiness.

verb

Disdain v. t. (past & past part. disdained; pres. part. disdaining)

To think unworthy; to deem unsuitable or unbecoming; as, to disdain to do a mean act. "Disdaining... that any should bear the armor of the best knight living."

To reject as unworthy of one's self, or as not deserving one's notice; to look with scorn upon; to scorn, as base acts, character, etc. "When the Philistine... saw David, he disdained him; for he was but a youth." "'T is great, 't is manly to disdain disguise."

Synonyms: To contemn; despise; scorn. See Contemn.

Disdain v. i. To be filled with scorn; to feel contemptuous anger; to be haughty. "And when the chief priests and scribes saw the marvels that he did... they disdained."

See images of 'Disdain'

Etymology of 'Disdain'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Disdain" Quotes from Famous Books

... nations in its stream. Were these the kind of men whose disapprobation the wise and lofty-minded Lucretius should have regarded with a salutary awe? The latest and perhaps the meanest of those who follow in his footsteps would disdain to hold life on ...

— The Complete Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley Volume I • Percy Bysshe Shelley

... right; yet he dared not follow, for he feared the grave, thoughtful man, in spite of his determination to regard and treat him with lofty disdain. ...

— Red Rooney - The Last of the Crew • R.M. Ballantyne

... mainly to improving his motor (which, by the way, he has applied to the tricycle), M. Trouv does not disdain telephony, but has introduced into the manufacture of magnets for ...

— Scientific American Supplement, No. 362, December 9, 1882 • Various

... ugly eyes on me it sends a twinge all through me as though I had knocked my elbow on the parapet. She likes fishing too. Watch her: she fishes as though it were a holy rite! She looks upon everything with disdain . . . . She stands there, the wretch, and is conscious that she is a human being, and that therefore she is the monarch of nature. And do you know what her name is? Wilka Charlesovna Fyce! Tfoo! There ...

— Love and Other Stories • Anton Chekhov

... outskirts of the town, there dwelt a poor sewing woman, whose only daughter was famed for her wondrous beauty. Lucy had frequently seen Ada in the streets, but never before had she met her, and she now determined to treat her with the utmost disdain. ...

— Homestead on the Hillside • Mary Jane Holmes

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