disdained

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Related to disdained: contemptibly, contemptibility

dis·dain

(dĭs-dān′)

tr.v. dis·dained, dis·dain·ing, dis·dains

1. To regard or treat with haughty contempt: critics who disdained the writer as a hack. See Synonyms at despise.

2. To consider or reject (doing something) as beneath oneself: disdained receiving an award from the organization; disdained to attend the ceremony.

A feeling or show of contempt and aloofness; scorn.

[Middle English disdeinen, from Old French desdeignier, from Vulgar Latin *disdignāre, from Latin dēdignārī : dē-, de- + dignārī, to deem worthy (from dignus, worthy; see dek- in Indo-European roots).]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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References in classic literature ?

It is not that Pierre Gringoire either feared or disdained monsieur the cardinal.

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"Tell me, isn't it humiliating to think that a man has disdained your love, that he hasn't cared for it?..."

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A stubborn anger seized the crew; the sailors abused the monster, who, as before, disdained to answer them; the captain no longer contented himself with twisting his beard--he gnawed it.

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Elizabeth disdained the appearance of noticing this civil reflection, but its meaning did not escape, nor was it likely to conciliate her.

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But like Czar Peter content to toil in the shipyards of foreign cities, Queequeg disdained no seeming ignominy, if thereby he might happily gain the power of enlightening his untutored countrymen.

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Never mind the jobs they could provide for Filipinos who may otherwise be driven to seek their fortunes serving those same disdained foreigners anyway-right in their own turf.

Nationalism as 'oneness'

His writing, depending on one's point of view, is either deliciously challenging or needlessly obfuscating; he disdained popular culture, particularly popular music, while bothering to listen to very little of it, which is either the mark of an uncompromising maverick or a poor scholar; and he was either a cheerless snob who contemplated impossibly pure utopias and disdained practicalities or a visionary who used theory to tame and reshape the world.

Why Berkeley Professor Judith Butler Was the Right Recipient for the Adorno Prize

Twenty years ago, the Bryant Park name was something to be disdained, epitomizing urban decay and criminals gone wild.