Supercilious vs Contumelious - What's the difference?
supercilious | contumelious | Related terms |
Arrogantly superior; showing contemptuous indifference; haughty.
* 2013 May 23, , "
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(archaic, literary) Rudely contemptuous; showing contumely; insolent or disdainful.
* 1879 ,
Supercilious is a related term of contumelious.
As adjectives the difference between supercilious and contumelious
is that supercilious is arrogantly superior; showing contemptuous indifference; haughty while contumelious is (archaic|literary) rudely contemptuous; showing contumely; insolent or disdainful.supercilious
English
Adjective
(en adjective)British Leader’s Liberal Turn Sets Off a Rebellion in His Party," New York Times (retrieved 29 May 2013):
- Buffeted by criticism of his policy on Europe, battered by rebellion in the ranks over his bill to legalize same-sex marriage and wounded by the perception that he is supercilious , contemptuous and out of touch with mainstream Conservatism, Mr. Cameron earlier this week took the highly unusual step of sending a mass e-mail (or, as he called it, “a personal note”) to his party’s grass-roots members.
- Now he was a sturdy, straw haired man of thirty with a rather hard mouth and a supercilious manner.
Synonyms
* See alsoDerived terms
* superciliously * superciliousnesscontumelious
English
Adjective
(en adjective)- The pad would not stay on Modestine’s back for half a moment. I returned it to its maker, with whom I had so contumelious a passage that the street outside was crowded from wall to wall with gossips looking on and listening.