What does contempt mean?
Word: Contempt
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Contempt means a strong feeling that someone or something is worthless and not worth caring about.
Synonyms: scorn, disdain, disrespect
Antonyms: admiration
How do you spell contempt?
Syllables: con - tempt
Tricky part: The p before the last t is hardly heard, so it often goes missing.
Watch out for: contemp, contempet
Memory tip: A quiet p hides between the m and the t, just as it does in empty.
Idioms and Phrases
- familiarity breeds contempt: when you know someone or something too well, you can stop respecting them Example: "He used to love the park near his house, but familiarity breeds contempt and now he never goes."
Contempt in a sentence
Example 1: The villain in the film looked at the hero with contempt.
Example 2: She felt contempt for people who litter the beach.
Example 3: Never treat anyone with contempt just because they are poor.
Fun Fact
In a court of law, refusing to follow a judge's orders is called contempt of court.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word:
contempt
a) dislike
b) respect
c) hatred
d) mockery
Show answer
b) respect. Respect is thinking well of someone, which contempt never does.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) contempt
b) gentel
c) kindnes
d) honnest
Show answer
a) contempt. Honest has one n, kindness ends in ness and gentle ends in le.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
pmetnoct
a) cnotempt
b) contempt
c) conetmpt
d) cotnempt
Show answer
b) contempt. Only one choice opens with the three letters you hear first.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
conttempt
a) t
b) p
c) e
d) m
Show answer
a) t. Con and tempt join with a single t between them.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. When someone looks at you with contempt, they are showing that they
a) are proud of what you did
b) think you are not worth much
c) want to become your friend
d) feel sorry for your trouble
Show answer
b) think you are not worth much
2. If you treat a rule with contempt, you
a) follow it very carefully
b) write it down neatly
c) pay it no attention at all
d) explain it to others
Show answer
c) pay it no attention at all
