despise
/dɪˈspaɪz/verb
despise is spelled D-E-S-P-I-S-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 3.2 times per million words in written English, the 14,928th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, despise means “To regard with contempt or scorn” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in despise?
| Letters | 7: D-E-S-P-I-S-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.2 times per million words; the 14,928th 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 despise?
Despise appears 3.2 times per million words in written English, the 14,928th 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 despise?
- /dɪˈspaɪz/
Despise has 2 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-despise.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of despise
- despises present, singular, he/she/it
- despising participle, present
- despised participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does despise mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To regard with contempt or scorn.
Near-synonym: hate
- 2
To disregard or ignore.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Despise in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | mépriser, dédaigner |
| German | verachten |
| Portuguese | desprezar |
| Spanish | despreciar , desatender, desoír |
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 despise come from?
From Middle English despisen, from Old French despis-, stem of despire, from Latin dēspicere (“to look down upon, despise, scorn”), from dē (“down”) + speciō (“to look at”). Displaced native Old English forsēon.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).