Contemn Kun Tem Verb Treat Contempt Despise Middle English

To treat with contempt; to despise.

[From Middle English contempnen, from Latin contemnere, from com- + temnere (to despise).]

"Sarah's personality, after all, is almost singularly defined by her caring, symbiotic relationship with Leon and several other friends; in departing so abruptly, she seems to contemn this central dimension of her identity." - Alex Raksin; The Dreams of Zoo Animals by Valmai Howe; The Los Angeles Times; May 7, 1989.

"Matthew Rees explains the ins and outs of the failed coup that has left Newt Gingrich contemning Dick Armey, Tom DeLay, and John Boehner, his GOP subalterns." - Scot Lehigh; Sermon on Sex; The Boston Globe; Jul 30, 1997.