Despect
noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Contempt, derision. archaic, uncountable
"In 488 A.D. the then very young, energetic, clever and deceitful king Kavadh succeeded to the throne. The rule was actually in the hands of the most powerful nobleman, Sokhra of the Karen family, who had won fame in the war against the Huns. Sokhra treated the young king with despect as a boy. The king's anger over Sokhra's treatment of him was exploited by another nobleman, Shapur of the Mihran family, who helped Kavadh to remove the regent."
- 1 To hold in contempt, to despise, to look down on, to scorn. archaic
"[Act II, scene ii, page 72] Nay, but with patience, Sir, we that are Officers / Muſt 'quire the ſpeciall markes, and all the tokens / Of the deſpected parties, or perhaps – elſe, / Be nere the nere of our purpoſe in 'prehending 'hem. [Act III, scene i, page 79] Faith Goſſip Turfe, you have, you ſay, Remiſſion / To comprehend all ſuch, as are diſpected: / Now, would I make another privie ſearch / Through this Towne, and then you have zearch'd two towns."
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"In 488 A.D. the then very young, energetic, clever and deceitful king Kavadh succeeded to the throne. The rule was actually in the hands of the most powerful nobleman, Sokhra of the Karen family, who had won fame in the war against the Huns. Sokhra treated the young king with despect as a boy. The king's anger over Sokhra's treatment of him was exploited by another nobleman, Shapur of the Mihran family, who helped Kavadh to remove the regent."
Etymology
From Middle English despect (“contempt, spite”), from Latin dēspectus (“a looking down upon, contempt”), from dēspicere (“to look down upon, despise, scorn”), from dē (“down”) + specere (“to look at, behold”), equivalent to de- + -spect.
Related phrases
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.