contemptible
/kənˈtɛmptəbəl/adjective
contemptible is spelled C-O-N-T-E-M-P-T-I-B-L-E: 12 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 49,949th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, contemptible means “Deserving contempt” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in contemptible?
| Letters | 12: C-O-N-T-E-M-P-T-I-B-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 49,949th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is contemptible?
Contemptible appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 49,949th 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 contemptible?
- /kənˈtɛmptəbəl/
Contemptible 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-AnotherFriendlyHuman-contemptible.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of contemptible
- more contemptible comparative
- most contemptible superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does contemptible mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Deserving contempt.
- 2
obsoleteCarrying or having contempt; contemptuous.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Contemptible in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense deserving contempt:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | méprisable |
| German | verachtenswürdig, verachtenswert |
| Portuguese | desprezível |
| Spanish | bajo, desdeñable, despreciable, menospreciable, rastrero, contentible |
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.
Where does contemptible come from?
From Middle English contemptible, from Latin contemptibilis. By surface analysis, contempt + -ible.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).