Meanings
comparative more despicable · superlative most despicable
- Fit or deserving to be despised; contemptible; mean.
The physical penis is consumed by despicable fish, animals of the turgid depths, but the higher phallus, the image of resurrection through the goddess, is fashioned as a sacred icon.
1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 234Synonyms: vile, evil, mean, contemptible, obscene, wicked, abject, filthy
plural despicables
- A wretched or wicked person.
Robbers assemble other robbers for the purpose of robbery; but Christians gather thieves, bandits, and other despicables for the purpose of spiritual transformation.
2004, Wayne Campbell Kannaday, Apologetic Discourse and the Scribal Tradition
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveFit or deserving to be despised; contemptible; mean.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latindēspicor
- Late Latindēspicābilis
- Englishdespicable
From Late Latin dēspicābilis, from Latin dēspicor, a variant of dēspiciō (“to despise”), from de (“down”) + speciō (“to look at, behold”). First attested in the 1550s. Equivalent to despise + -able.
More words from Late Latin, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Basque txarro
- txarrodeserving to be despised
Bulgarian презря́н, жа́лък
- презря́н (prezrján)deserving to be despised
- жа́лък (žálăk)deserving to be despised
Catalan menyspreable
- menyspreabledeserving to be despised
Chinese Mandarin 卑鄙, 卑劣
- 卑鄙 (bēibǐ)deserving to be despised
- 卑劣 (bēiliè)deserving to be despised
Czech opovrženíhodný
- opovrženíhodnýdeserving to be despised
Danish foragtelig
- foragteligdeserving to be despised
Dutch verachtelijk, verfoeilijk
- verachtelijkdeserving to be despised
- verfoeilijkdeserving to be despised
- afschuwelijkdeserving to be despised
Esperanto aĉa
- aĉadeserving to be despised
Finnish halveksittava, kurja
- halveksittavadeserving to be despised
- kurjadeserving to be despised
French abject, détestable
- abjectdeserving to be despised
- détestabledeserving to be despised
- méprisabledeserving to be despised
German verachtenswert, gemein
- verachtenswertdeserving to be despised
- gemeindeserving to be despised
- niederträchtigdeserving to be despised
- verabscheuungswürdigdeserving to be despised
- widerwärtigdeserving to be despised
- abscheulichdeserving to be despised
- schnödedeserving to be despised
Greek αχρείος, ποταπός
- αχρείος (achreíos)deserving to be despised
- ποταπός (potapós)deserving to be despised
- αχαρακτήριστος (acharaktíristos)deserving to be despised
Hungarian megvetendő, alávaló
- megvetendődeserving to be despised
- alávalódeserving to be despised
Indonesian tercela, hina
- terceladeserving to be despised
- hinadeserving to be despised
- kejideserving to be despised
Italian spregevole, abietto
- spregevoledeserving to be despised
- abiettodeserving to be despised
- disprezzabiledeserving to be despised
Japanese 卑しい, 汚い
- 卑しい (iyashii)deserving to be despised
- 汚い (kitanai)deserving to be despised
- 卑劣な (hiretsu na)deserving to be despised
Latin contemptus
- contemptusdeserving to be despised
Latvian zemisks
- zemisksdeserving to be despised
Māori kiripiro, whakarihariha
- kiripirodeserving to be despised
- whakariharihadeserving to be despised
Norwegian Bokmål avskyelig, foraktelig
- avskyeligdeserving to be despised
- forakteligdeserving to be despised
Persian نفرت انگیز
- نفرت انگیز (nefrat-angiz)deserving to be despised
Polish nikczemny
- nikczemnydeserving to be despised
Portuguese desprezível
- desprezíveldeserving to be despised
Romanian disprețuibil, abject
- disprețuibildeserving to be despised
- abjectdeserving to be despised
Russian презре́нный, жа́лкий
- презре́нный (prezrénnyj)deserving to be despised
- жа́лкий (žálkij)deserving to be despised
- никчёмный (nikčómnyj)deserving to be despised
Spanish desdeñable, despreciable
- desdeñabledeserving to be despised
- despreciabledeserving to be despised
- bajodeserving to be despised
- rastrerodeserving to be despised
- deleznabledeserving to be despised
- ruindeserving to be despised
Swedish avskyvärd
- avskyvärddeserving to be despised
Ukrainian нікче́мний
- нікче́мний (nikčémnyj)deserving to be despised
Vietnamese đáng khinh
- đáng khinhdeserving to be despised
Yiddish פּאַסקודנע
- פּאַסקודנע (paskudne)deserving to be despised
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with despicable
Cite this entry
despicable. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/despicable
“despicable.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/despicable. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “despicable,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/despicable.
Source: despicable on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.