contemn
/kənˈtɛm/
"contemn" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“contemn” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To disdain; to value at little or nothing; to treat or regard with contempt.
Corpus desk
Index EN-contemn · contemn · English
contemn · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "C" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | contemn |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /kənˈtɛm/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “contemn” in English
Rare enough to double-check
contemn is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /kənˈtɛm/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
contemn doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English contempnen, from Old French contemner, from Latin contemnō (“to scorn”). See also contempt. The correct English form is contemn, spelled C-O-N-T-E-M-N.
Definition
- 1To disdain; to value at little or nothing; to treat or regard with contempt.
- 2To commit an offence of contempt, such as contempt of court; to unlawfully flout (e.g. a ruling).
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how contemn appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The subject of the following History [...] is the unhappy Lives, and untimely Deaths, of that Unfortunate English King Edward the Second, and his two Favourites Gaveston and Spencer; for his immoderate love to whom, (Says Dr. Heylin) he was hated by the Nobles, and contemned by the Commons.
The change which had so suddenly elevated Charles Stuart to the throne of his ancestors, and, from a poor, wandering, and powerless exile, made him one of Europe's most powerful monarchs, had taken the various courts where he had sojourned, neglected, if not contemned, completely by surprise.
Etymology
From Middle English contempnen, from Old French contemner, from Latin contemnō (“to scorn”). See also contempt.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.