Despise

Yazar

19/12/2025

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1. Definition + Rich Everyday Explanation

Despise (verb) = to feel intense dislike or complete lack of respect for someone or something.

When you despise something, you don’t just dislike it — you feel deep contempt for it. The emotion is stronger than “hate” in a specific way: despising includes looking down on something, seeing it as worthless, pathetic, or beneath you. It combines disgust with rejection.

In everyday modern English, despise signals that someone has made a judgement — not just an emotional reaction. When you despise a person, you’ve decided they don’t deserve your respect. When you despise a behaviour, you find it morally unacceptable or shameful. The word carries weight and finality.

People often despise things that violate their values — dishonesty, cruelty, weakness, or hypocrisy. It’s personal and often permanent. Once someone despises something, it’s hard to undo.

Examples from the street:

“She despises people who lie” → she has zero respect for dishonesty
“He despised himself for giving up” → he felt shame and self-contempt
“They despise everything he stands for” → complete rejection of his values

2. Most Common Patterns

despise + noun/pronoun → feel deep contempt for someone or something
despise + -ing → feel contempt for a particular behaviour or action
despise yourself for + -ing → feel self-contempt because of something you did
openly/secretly despise → show or hide your contempt
come to despise → gradually develop contempt over time

3. Idioms

beneath contempt → so bad that it doesn’t even deserve to be despised
Example: “His behaviour was beneath contempt — I won’t even discuss it.”
hold in contempt → feel and show complete disrespect for someone
Example: “She holds liars in contempt and refuses to work with them.”

4. Example Sentences

She despises dishonesty in any form
→ She has complete contempt for people who aren’t truthful.
He despises being told what to do
→ He hates it and feels disrespected when people give him orders.
After the betrayal, she came to despise her former friend
→ Over time, she developed deep contempt for someone she once trusted.
Many voters openly despise politicians who break promises
→ They publicly show their lack of respect for leaders who lie.
He despised himself for not speaking up when it mattered
→ He felt shame and self-contempt for staying silent.
She secretly despises the culture of her workplace
→ She hides her contempt, but internally rejects how things operate.
The character in the film despises weakness in others
→ He looks down on anyone he sees as not strong enough.
They despise everything the new policy represents
→ They completely reject the values and ideas behind it.

5. Personal Examples

Some students despise group projects because of unequal effort
→ They feel contempt when others don’t contribute fairly.
I despise forgetting words I’ve already studied
→ I feel frustrated and disappointed in myself when it happens.