condescend
con·de·scend/ˌkɑndəˈsɛnd/verb
condescend is spelled C-O-N-D-E-S-C-E-N-D, 3 syllables: con·de·scend. The wrong spelling people search most is condenscend: about 10 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 34 of all searches for the word. Condescend is a verb meaning “To come down from a superior position and do something; to deign; (with a negative connotation) to stoop”.
How many letters and syllables are in condescend?
| Letters | 10: C-O-N-D-E-S-C-E-N-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: con·de·scend |
| In writing | about once in every 6 million words; the 70,702nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, condenscend, about 10 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How do you spell condescend?
Condescend is spelled C-O-N-D-E-S-C-E-N-D. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 34 of the searches for condescend in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is condescend?
Condescend appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 70,702nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce condescend?
- UK /ˌkɒndɪˈsɛnd/
- US /ˌkɑndəˈsɛnd/
Condescend has 3 syllables, split con·de·scend in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-condescend.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with condescend?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as condescend from its last stressed vowel (/ɛnd/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of condescend
- condescends present, singular, he/she/it
- condescending participle, present
- condescended participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does condescend mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
obsoleteTo come down or go down; to descend.
- 2
To come down from a superior position and do something; to deign; (with a negative connotation) to stoop.
The boss condescended not to sack him after much persuasion from his coworkers.
- 3
To treat someone as though inferior; to talk down to someone; to patronize.
- 4
Chiefly followed by on or upon: to go into detail; to particularize, to specify.
- 5
obsoleteTo agree to something; to accede, to assent, to consent; also, to reach an agreement.
- 6
obsoleteTo give way or yield in a deferential manner; to be amenable or compliant.
- 7
obsoleteTo graciously give; to vouchsafe.
- 8
obsoleteTo reach a certain point; to settle on.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Condescend in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | herablassen , bevormunden, herablassend behandeln |
| Spanish | condescender (a) , tratar con condescendencia , condescender |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.