contumely
/ˈkɒnt͡ʃuːməli/noun
contumely is spelled C-O-N-T-U-M-E-L-Y: 9 letters. It appears about once in every 56 million words in written English, the 234,209th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, contumely means “Offensive and abusive language or behaviour; scorn, insult” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of contumely is contumelies.
How many letters and syllables are in contumely?
| Letters | 9: C-O-N-T-U-M-E-L-Y |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 56 million words; the 234,209th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is contumely?
Contumely appears about once in every 56 million words in written English, the 234,209th 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 contumely?
- UK /ˈkɒnt͡ʃuːməli/
- UK /ˈkɒntjuːməli/
- UK /kɒnˈt͡ʃuːməli/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-contumely.wav, En-us-contumely.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of contumely
- contumelies plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does contumely mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Offensive and abusive language or behaviour; scorn, insult.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Contumely in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense offensive and abusive language or behaviour:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Portuguese | insulto, contumélia, insolência |
| Spanish | injuria, ofensa, contumelia |
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 contumely come from?
From Old French contumelie, from Latin contumēlia (“insult”), perhaps from com- + tumeō (“swell”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).