Supercilious

//ˌsuː.pəˈsɪ.li.əs// adj

adj ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Arrogantly superior; showing contemptuous indifference; haughty.

    "[H]is ſupercilious glances grevv humbled, yea, his dazeling ſplendor (eclipſt in the ſetting [i.e., death] of his Maſter) becomes quickly darkned: […]"

Adjective
  1. 1
    expressive of contempt wordnet
  2. 2
    having or showing arrogant superiority to and disdain of those one views as unworthy wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
disdainfulairyaloofarrogantarrogantauthoritarian

Example

More examples

"The supercilious billionaire couldn't stand the idea of sharing public transit with the common folk."

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin superciliōsus (“haughty”).

More for "supercilious"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.