Disprizes

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Regards someone or something as having little worth and treats it with scorn or contempt
2. Thinks poorly of a person or thing and looks down on it as unworthy of esteem
3. Belittles or undervalues a person, idea, or object, judging it to deserve little respect

Etymology: "Disprizes" is the third-person singular form of "disprize," a verb meaning to undervalue or hold in low esteem. The form simply adds the usual "-s" ending to the verb's base. The verb itself is built from the prefix "dis-," which reverses or negates, attached to "prize," so it literally undoes or reverses the act of prizing something. "Prize" traces back through Old French "pris," meaning price or worth, which is also the root of "price" and "praise" in their earlier senses. "Disprize" is a doublet of "dispraise," meaning that the two words descend from the same source but reached English along different routes and took slightly different shapes. "Dispraise" carries the sense of speaking badly of someone, while "disprize" keeps the older connection to valuing or appraising, so the two sit side by side as near relatives with different emphases.

Synonyms: disparage, belittle, undervalue, disdain

Antonyms: prize, esteem, value