Contemptuous
Contemptuous adjective - Feeling or showing open dislike for someone or something regarded as undeserving of respect or concern.
Usage example: loutish tourists who are contemptuous of the ways and traditions of their host countries
Mean and contemptuous are semantically related. In some cases you can use "Mean" instead an adjective "Contemptuous".
Mean
Mean adjective - Having or showing a desire to cause someone pain or suffering for the sheer enjoyment of it.
Usage example: a mean, embittered old woman who wanted company for her misery
Contemptuous and mean are semantically related. Sometimes you can use "Contemptuous" instead an adjective "Mean".
Mutual synonyms
Both words in one sentence
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His peer group includes two girls of about his age, one who is contemptuous, bitchy, and often mean to him (although this behavior is a front to hide her own insecurities, which later bring her to the point of insanity), and another one who is unemotional and stoic.
Cite this Source
Mean and Contemptuous. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 16, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/contemptuous/mean
Contemptuous & Mean. N.p., 2016. Web. 16 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/contemptuous/mean>.
Mean or Contemptuous. 2016. Accessed August 16, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/contemptuous/mean.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "contemptuous" and "mean" have occurred on timeline