Contempt1. (n.) The act of contemning or despising; the feeling with which one regards that which is esteemed mean, vile, or worthless; disdain; scorn.
2. (n.) The state of being despised; disgrace; shame.
3. (n.) An act or expression denoting contempt.
4. (n.) Disobedience of the rules, orders, or process of a court of justice, or of rules or orders of a legislative body; disorderly, contemptuous, or insolent language or behavior in presence of a court, tending to disturb its proceedings, or impair the respect due to its authority.
Thesaurus Entries
abhorrence, abjuration, abjurement, affront, antipathy, arrogance, aspersion, atrocity, audacity, aversion, bold front, boldness, brash bearing, brashness, brassiness, bravado, brazenfacedness, brazenness, brickbat, bumptiousness, cheekiness, chucking, chucking out, cockiness, contemptuousness, contradiction, contumacy, contumely, cut, daring, daringness, declination, declining, defial, defiance, defying, denial, denigration, deprecation, depreciation, derision, despisal, despising, despite, disapproval, discard, disclamation, discommendation, discounting, discredit, disdain, disesteem, disfavor, disgust, dishonor, dismissal, disownment, disparagement, dispraise, disregard, disrepute, disrespectfulness, distaste, disvaluation, dump, enormity, exception, exclusion, face of brass, flippancy, flout, flouting, freshness, gibe, hate, hatred, humiliation, ignominy, ignoring, impertinence, impudence, indignity, infamy, injury, insolence, insult, jeer, jeering, loathing, mock, mockery, nonacceptance, nonapproval, nonconsideration, odium, offense, opprobrium, outrage, passing by, pertness, put-down, putting away, putting out, rebuff, recalcitrance, recantation, refusal, rejection, renouncement, repudiation, repugnance, repulse, ridicule, rudeness, sauciness, scoff, scorn, scouting, scurrility, shame, spurning, stubbornness, taunt, throwing out, turning out, uncomplimentary remark