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View synonyms for

condescension

[ kon-duh-sen-shuhn ]

noun

  1. an act or instance of condescending. condescending.
  2. behavior that is patronizing or condescending. condescending.
  3. voluntary assumption of equality with a person regarded as inferior.


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Other yvlog Forms

  • Dz··· [kon-d, uh, -, sen, -siv], adjective
  • Dzd·s· adverb
  • ԴDzcDz··sDz noun
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yvlog History and Origins

Origin of condescension1

First recorded in 1635–45, condescension is from the Late Latin word DzԻŧŧԲō- (stem of DzԻŧŧԲō ). See con-, descension
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

He also offered more of the condescension toward his colleagues that defined the video — at one point referring to them as his “amateur gunsmithing colleagues” and blasting their decision as inept.

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Then we can talk about specific groups’ concerns — but here we’ve got to avoid any hint of the condescension that so often seeps into our message.

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Partnered people begrudge the pressure; single people resent the condescension.

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It is, in its own way, an insidious form of condescension.

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She began shooting pool at 21 in bars across cities and is still baffled by men’s casual condescension toward female pool players.

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More About Condescension

What doescondescension mean?

Condescension is a way of interacting with others that implies that you’re superior to them. It especially refers to when this is done in an arrogant or patronizing way—meaning when you act as if you’re doing someone a favor by supposedly lowering yourself to their level of understanding or intelligence.

Condescension often involves not only what is said but also how it’s said. A tone of condescension is often one that sounds like it’s directed at a child.

Condescension is a noun form of the verb condescend, which most commonly means to behave in this way. When used this way, condescend, condescension, and the adjective condescending are always negative and imply that such behavior is insulting to the person or people it’s directed toward.

Condescend can also mean to stoop to a lower level or to do something that one considers as below one’s dignity. A close synonym of this sense of the word is deign. Condescension can also mean the act of doing so.

Example: His opinion piece is dripping with condescension—it’s written as if no one else is capable of understanding.

Where doescondescension come from?

The first records of the word condescension come from the 1600s. It derives from a term closely related to the Late Latin verb DzԻŧԻ, which means “to stoop” and derives from the Latin ŧԻ, “to descend.”

Condescension always involves stooping or descending to the level of those considered inferior. A person who condescends to another usually isn’t outright insulting them. Instead, they’re speaking as if the person they’re addressing doesn’t have the ability to understand their supposedly superior intelligence. Most commonly, condescension takes the form of a person intentionally attempting to display this supposed superiority through their tone.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to condescension?

What are some words that share a root or word element with condescension?

What are some words that often get used in discussing condescension?

How isDzԻԲDzused in real life?

The word condescension is usually used negatively to imply rudeness or disrespect.

Try usingcondescension!

Is condescension used correctly in the following sentence?

The thinly veiled condescension in his speech was extremely off-putting.

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