condescending
/ˌkɑndəˈsɛndɪŋ/adjective, noun, verb
condescending is spelled C-O-N-D-E-S-C-E-N-D-I-N-G. The wrong spelling people search most is condesending: about 530 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 15 of all searches for the word. Condescending is an adjective meaning “Assuming a tone of superiority, or a patronizing attitude”.
How many letters and syllables are in condescending?
| Letters | 13: C-O-N-D-E-S-C-E-N-D-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.3 times per million words; the 25,367th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, condesending, about 530 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; 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).
How do you spell condescending?
Condescending is spelled C-O-N-D-E-S-C-E-N-D-I-N-G. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 15 of the searches for condescending 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 condescending?
Condescending appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,367th 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 condescending?
- UK /ˈkɔn.dɪ.sɛnd.ɪŋ/
- UK /ˈkɔnˌdi.sɛnd.ɪŋ/
- US /ˌkɑndəˈsɛndɪŋ/
Condescending has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-condescending.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of condescending
- more condescending comparative
- most condescending superlative
- condescendings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does condescending mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Assuming a tone of superiority, or a patronizing attitude.
Quit talking to me in that condescending tone! You always treat me like a child!
noun
- 1
An act of condescension.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of condescend
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Condescending in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense assuming a tone of superiority or a patronizing attitude:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | condescendant, infantilisant (infantilizing) |
| German | herablassend |
| Portuguese | condescendente, paternalista |
| Spanish | condescendiente, paternalista |
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.