contemn

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"Did not William Blake contemn reason and paint the ghost of a flea?"

From Time Magazine Archive

"We can scarcely contemn the hardihood of a Government that has made Crofton a bishop, and Hawes a general," said Helen, with a flashing eye and a lip curled in superciliousness.

From The Knight Of Gwynne, Vol. I (of II) by Lever, Charles James

Young man, there is a mysterious system of ethics which the world understands not—the reputed wise, subtleize it, and the vainly wicked contemn and despise it.

From The Cavaliers of Virginia or, The Recluse of Jamestown. Vol. II by Caruthers, William A. (Alexander)

His Good Word for Everybody Indeed, he has a good word for everybody, and discerns laudable qualities in some whom the world has agreed to contemn and cast out.

From Literary Shrines The Haunts of Some Famous American Authors by Wolfe, Theodore F. (Theodore Frelinghuysen)

No doubt it is both ignorant and stupid to contemn what you cannot understand.

From The Maid of Honour, Vol. 1 (of 3) A Tale of the Dark Days of France by Wingfield, Lewis