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Synonym Chooser

How is the word contemptible different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of contemptible are despicable, pitiable, scurvy, and sorry. While all these words mean "arousing or deserving scorn," contemptible may imply any quality provoking scorn or a low standing in any scale of values.

a contemptible liar

When is despicable a more appropriate choice than contemptible?

In some situations, the words despicable and contemptible are roughly equivalent. However, despicable may imply utter worthlessness and usually suggests arousing an attitude of moral indignation.

a despicable crime

When would pitiable be a good substitute for contemptible?

While in some cases nearly identical to contemptible, pitiable applies to what inspires mixed contempt and pity.

a pitiable attempt at tragedy

How are the words scurvy and despicable related as synonyms of contemptible?

Scurvy adds to despicable an implication of arousing disgust.

a scurvy crew of hangers-on

When might sorry be a better fit than contemptible?

The synonyms sorry and contemptible are sometimes interchangeable, but sorry may stress pitiable inadequacy or may suggest wretchedness or sordidness.

this rattletrap is a sorry excuse for a car

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of contemptible Most Europeans find Donald Trump alien and contemptible and a man unsuited for the U.S. presidency. David Goodart, Foreign Affairs, 15 Aug. 2017 It’s turned out very badly and the right-wing government of Benjamin Netanyahu is contemptible. Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2024 Be open-minded and recognize that even a campaign opponent — even the contemptible Trump — can occasionally be onto something worthwhile. George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 22 Sep. 2024 Alwyn does some of his best work, making Harry contemptible without veering into caricature. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Sep. 2024 See All Example Sentences for contemptible
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contemptible
Adjective
  • Its pitiful history includes only one application, less than a decade after its formulation, to strike down a delegation in Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, 295 U.S. 495 (1935).
    Marie Sapirie, Forbes, 3 Mar. 2025
  • Kubrick’s film is a hell of a black comedy that satirizes the mediocrity of middle-class life: In the director’s world, fathers are pitiful providers, mothers are blandly cheerful (while quietly suffering enormously), and the kids see far more than their parents do.
    Tim Grierson, Vulture, 21 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Michael Gandolfini pops up as a slimy Fisk mayoral staffer who wouldn’t look out of place in this magazine’s recent cover featuring the new young right, and his playing both pathetic and vaguely sympathetic is very fun to watch.
    Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2025
  • How to decide which of these pathetic characters will get his fading masculinity restored?
    Peter Debruge, Variety, 2 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • The Oakland Jewish Alliance, a grassroots organization formed in the wake of these vile acts, has reported over 400 incidents of antisemitic graffiti around the Lake Merritt/Lakeshore neighborhoods in a one-year period.
    Mark Cohen, The Mercury News, 10 Mar. 2025
  • Charlie Kirk is a vile bigot, and standing with him on this issue is profoundly disturbing.
    Tommy Tuberville, Newsweek, 7 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • As holidays go, however, Flag Day can feel a bit lame.
    Kevin Fisher-Paulson, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 June 2021
  • My 11-year-old loved watching the pups roll balls and play a giant floor piano, but for non-dog owners (guilty as charged), parts of the series—like dressing dogs in little hats and outfits for a Parisian fashion show—feel lame.
    Tim Neville, Outside Online, 23 Nov. 2020
Adjective
  • And then, to top a nasty joke with a nastier one, he was deemed useless for the final twenty years of his life.
    Jackson Arn, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2025
  • That jab opened up several nasty cuts around Rountree's eye and on the bridge of his nose.
    Trent Reinsmith, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Read: The cost of avoiding microplastics In the mid-1990s, China emerged as the principal destination for used cups, straws, and the like; the country’s growing manufacturing sector was eager to make use of cheap, recycled raw plastic.
    Scott W. Stern, The Atlantic, 10 Mar. 2025
  • My problem is, one family member opens cards that have been left there for my daughter, and puts all sorts of cheap decorations around her grave.
    Jeanne Phillips, The Mercury News, 9 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Every Look from the 2025 Oscars Red Carpet By Vogue Based on Court of Honor, William P. Wood’s 1991 legal thriller, this Turner Network Television original movie finds Tom Selleck playing a municipal judge who pitches in to help with a government sting operation focused on nailing a dirty judge.
    Nell Beram, Vogue, 8 Mar. 2025
  • More likely, a veteran like Hill or Ford or any number of others — guys who have played a lot and know how to get the dirty work done — could fit.
    Parker Gabriel, The Denver Post, 7 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • The latter culminated in an unceremonious exit with Denise bailing amid rumors of an affair with Brandi Glanville and some admittedly wretched mean-girl behavior from castmates Lisa Rinna and Kyle Richards (no relation).
    Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2025
  • No decent person, let alone a political movement downstream of the biblical, Judeo-Christian tradition, as American conservatism necessarily is, should lift a finger to welcome such a wretched reprobate to our shores or shield him from justice.
    Newsweek, Newsweek, 28 Feb. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Contemptible.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contemptible. Accessed 20 Mar. 2025.

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