Contemns

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To treat someone or something with contempt and scorn, indicating that it is regarded as unworthy or of little importance, while exhibiting a strong disapproval of its value or relevance
2. To show a strong feeling of disrespect or disgust toward someone or something seen as unworthy
3. To look down on a person or thing with strong disapproval and low regard

Etymology: "Contemns" is simply the third-person singular form of "contemn," so its story is the story of that verb. "Contemn" came into English from Old French "contemner," which took it from the Latin "contemnere," meaning "to scorn" or "to despise." The Latin verb was built from "con-," an intensifying prefix, and "temnere," a root meaning roughly "to slight" or "to think little of," so the word's core idea has always been looking down on something as beneath notice. English speakers first wrote the verb in its Middle English form "contempnen," and it kept the sense of scorning or treating as worthless that it still carries today. The verb is a close relative of "contempt," the noun that came into English along a similar path, so the two words share the same Latin ancestor and the same disdainful flavour.

Synonyms: despises, disdains, scorns, derides, belittles

Antonyms: admire, respect, value, honor, esteem