Meanings
comparative more disdainfully · superlative most disdainfully
- In a disdainful manner.
"There are other people coming besides the Princess Ziska, are there not, Mr. Murray?" inquired Sir Chetwynd Lyle, with an obtrusively bantering air. Denzil Murray glanced him over disdainfully.
1897, Marie Corelli, “Chapter I”, in Ziska: The Problem of a Wicked Soul, New York: Stone & Kimball, page 363 more examples
In what the antistock Carbon County Journal referred to disdainfully as "another of those farcical cattle cases," he was charged with running his own Staircase brand over a neighboring L 7 […], a charge which if true was not farcical at all.
1966, Helena Huntington Smith, The War on Powder River, page 68Instructor George Breathitt asked an audience of 300 computer enthusiasts in Louisville, Kentucky, how many seniors in the group would like to teach other seniors about computers. A younger member of the audience quipped disdainfully, "Wouldn't that be the blind leading the blind?"
1995 March 1, John F. Dickerson, “Aging: Never Too Old”, in Time, retrieved 04 Aug 2014Housemate”,’ he repeated, disdainfully. ‘What does this word imply?’ ‘That we are two unpartnered people, sharing the cost of the rent on a house, and are not romantically involved.’
2024, Kaliane Bradley, The Ministry of Time, Sceptre, page 12
Synonyms & antonyms
adverbin a proud and domineering manner
adverbwithout respect; in a disdainful manner
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Translations
Ancient Greek καταφρονητικῶς, ὑπερηφάνως
- καταφρονητικῶς (kataphronētikôs)in a disdainful manner
- ὑπερηφάνως (huperēphánōs)in a disdainful manner
- ὀλιγώρως (oligṓrōs)in a disdainful manner
- μεγαλοφρόνως (megalophrónōs)in a disdainful manner
- ὑπερκόπως (huperkópōs)in a disdainful manner
- ὑψικόμπως (hupsikómpōs)in a disdainful manner
Catalan desdenyosament
- desdenyosamentin a disdainful manner
Italian sdegnosamente
- sdegnosamentein a disdainful manner
Portuguese desdenhosamente
- desdenhosamentein a disdainful manner
Spanish desdeñosamente
- desdeñosamentein a disdainful manner
Cite this entry
disdainfully. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/disdainfully
“disdainfully.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/disdainfully. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “disdainfully,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/disdainfully.
Source: disdainfully on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.