Contumelious
//ˌkɑn.tʊˈmiː.li.əs// adj
adj ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
Adjective
- 1 Rudely contemptuous; showing contumely; exhibiting an insolent or disdainful attitude. archaic, literary
"VVith ſcoffes and ſcornes, and contumelious taunts, / In open Market-place produc't they me, / To be a publique ſpectacle to all: / Here, ſayd they, is the Terror of the French, / The Scar-Crovv that affrights our Children ſo."
Adjective
- 1 arrogantly insolent wordnet
Example
More examples"VVith ſcoffes and ſcornes, and contumelious taunts, / In open Market-place produc't they me, / To be a publique ſpectacle to all: / Here, ſayd they, is the Terror of the French, / The Scar-Crovv that affrights our Children ſo."
Etymology
From Old French contumelieus, from Latin contumēliōsus (“insulting; abusive”), from contumēlia (“affront, abuse, insult”).
More for "contumelious"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.