To treat with contempt; to scorn, despise, or regard with extreme disrespect.
From Latin 'contemnere' (to despise), combining 'con-' (thoroughly) with 'temnere' (to slight or despise). The word has carried this meaning since medieval English.
Contemn is a grandly old-fashioned word for scorn—you'll find it in Shakespeare and the King James Bible, used when characters absolutely despise something or someone!
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