despise

/dɪˈspaɪz/

to feel intense contempt or disgust for someone or something

She despised the way he treated people with such arrogance.

She felt strong contempt for his arrogant behavior.

formalinformal

to regard someone or something with intense contempt or disgust

He despised the corruption in the government.

He strongly disliked the dishonesty and unethical behavior in the government.

She despised the way he lied to her.

She felt deep contempt for his dishonesty.

Often used to express a strong, negative emotional reaction to someone or something.

Collocations

despise someoneto feel intense contempt for a persondespise somethingto strongly dislike or hate something

to strongly dislike the idea of something

Use 'despise' for strong, formal contempt. For everyday language, 'hate' or 'detest' may be more common.

'Despise' conveys a stronger, more intense feeling than 'dislike' or 'hate'.

From Middle English *despisen*, from Old French *despisier*, from Latin *despicere* (to look down on), from *de-* (down) + *specere* (to look).

Often used in formal or literary contexts to express a strong, negative emotion. Can be used with both people and things.

de-

down

prefix

-spise

to look down on

root

English Dictionary