despise

• dispise (obsolete)

From Middle English despisen, from Old French despis-, stem of despire, from Latin dēspicere, present active infinitive of dēspiciō (“I look down upon, despise, scorn”), from dē (“down”) + speciō (“I look at”). Displaced native Old English forsēon.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /dɪˈspaɪz/

• Audio (US)

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• Rhymes: -aɪz

despise (third-person singular simple present despises, present participle despising, simple past and past participle despised)

1. To regard with contempt or scorn.

   James still despises his brother for the time he pushed him out of a tree during their childhood.

2. To disregard or ignore.

• contemn
• disdain
• scorn
• See also Thesaurus:despise

• admire
• cherish
• honor
• respect
• treasure

• despisal
• despicable

• despect
• despection

• vilipend

• “despise”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “despise”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

• pedesis